In last week’s discussions, we delved into the different kinds of sustainable energy sources available and their limitations. We discussed the world of solar, wind, adn hydroelectric solutions, as well as nuclear. In talking about nuclear, it feels especially pertinent to dive into the major and historic nuclear events happening just an hour away with the Palisades Nuclear Plant.
The Palisades plant, located in Covert, MI, just under 40 miles away from Kalamazoo, began operation on March 24th, 1971. Except for scheduled maintenance outages, the plant remained in service for more than 50 years. Palisades operated up until 2022 when its owners, Holtec International, decommissioned it. Holtec had purchased Palisades from its previous owner Entergy to decommission it, as the plant struggled to compete with natural gas and renewable energy. The push to recommission Palisades came from Michigan legislators, including Kalamazoo’s own State senator, Sean McCann. McCann and various other Michigan legislators sent letters of support to Governor Whitmer, to persuade her to endorse and help finance the reopening of Palisades. Governor Whitmer worked with the U.S. Department of Energy in September of 2024 to negotiate a $1.52 billion loan guarantee to Holtec Palisades in order to secure private investment. The initial ascertainment of this loan was seen as a great success, however, the plant is still not online. While nuclear engineers are hard at work to get the plant online, this project is not all sunshine and roses.
Despite how starry this recommissioning may seem, there are several major drawbacks looming over any potential success. For one, nuclear energy has its own environmental implications, it is not a perfectly clean energy source. Operating a nuclear plant requires lots of natural resources, high carbon costs to start, and generates nuclear waste. A second major drawback is that recommissioning a nuclear plant in such a manner has never been achieved. It is unclear how successful this project may even ultimately be. Finally, not only is the process itself uncemented, but the funding itself if insecure. With Trump’s barrage of executive orders, it is unclear if the federal funding for Palisades will remain intact. Even if the federal funds themselves remain, the uncertainty alone is enough to dissuade foreign investors and make other entrepreneurs think twice. If anything it is most likely that in the wake of this new administration the Palisades project, despite any potential environmental benefits or detriments it may house, will come to a screeching halt.
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While it could contribute to Michigan's energy needs and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, significant environmental concerns, the unprecedented nature of such a project, and potential funding instability raise doubts about its feasibility and long-term success.
ReplyDeleteI wonder is nuclear energy worth it when it generates nuclear waste and the high carbon use to build something like this. It seems to me like there are better renewable options such as wind and solar.
ReplyDeleteI know that nuclear energy is a controversial alternative to traditional energy sources but I think we should at least put some time and energy into exploring the option. However, I was curious about why nobody has ever tried to bring one back online, what are the barriers to such projects? Are there additionally environmental concerns for recommissioning?
ReplyDeleteWhile nuclear energy is another alternative energy source, I would personally be worried about becoming too reliant on it. The main reason is that when I hear nuclear energy, and I think of an explosion. It seems to have its own share of dangers.
ReplyDeleteI am curious about how the town surrounding the plant received the news it was coming back online. Nuclear plants are definitely a step in the right direction, but only if they can be regulated thoroughly.
ReplyDeleteGood thought, I'd go to bet the surrounding residents are not as wealthy and probably get overlooked for their opinions on such topics.
DeleteI didn't know we had a nuclear plant relatively close to us, we hear so little about things like this!
ReplyDeleteWe actually have two! There is the Cook Nuclear Plant, which is only slightly farther away in Stevensville, MI, a little over 50 miles away from Kalamazoo.
DeleteWhile I've heard of cook nuclear plant, I had not heard of the palisades nuclear plant before reading this blog post. I appreciate you touching on the fact that using nuclear energy will have environmental impacts as well.
ReplyDeleteIt's really awesome that you have such a broad knowledge of this to be able to share it with all of us. I never even heard of this power plant before so it's nice to recognize its impacts so close to home.
ReplyDeleteI think that Whitmer setting the precedent to fund these projects is very important. Even if we don't switch to a fully nuclear running society, it must play a part in the overall functionality of our energy production. If we make more of these plants, we will start to learn the most efficient ways to get them off the ground without using as many natural resources. I have also heard that building them on top of broken or old coal plants could be money and resource efficient. I think we need a total societal shift to make it a productive solution.
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ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see what some legislators are actually doing to move us away from reliance on natural gas. Personally, I'm curious about the footprint of getting it restarted as well as the potential timeframe for when it could actually get back online.
ReplyDeleteThose are some of the most prominent concerns surrounding the project. Especially the timeline, some have expressed concerns over Holtec's ambitious and demanding recommission timeline. More info below:
Deletehttps://www.michiganpublic.org/environment-climate-change/2025-01-14/regulators-express-concerns-over-very-very-demanding-timeline-for-palisades-approval
Hey MLR, great post! It’s interesting to see the push to reopen Palisades, but the challenges seem huge. Do you think it will actually go online, or will funding issues shut it down?
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate this blog!! The cheap energy would be nice, but I agree that the risk to complete the first ever reopening of a nuclear power plant in the U.S. on the largest lake in the U.S. is not the best idea. I think it is also important to note that the area where the plant runs has an extremely high poverty rate compared to the rest of the country and county. At one time it was a place where racial integration and equality were thriving but today the disparities are notable.
ReplyDeleteThis was intresting to learn about and im curious and a bit worried to see how this plays out.
ReplyDeleteI think, should the funding remain intact and the proper knowledge be there, the plant could well be restarted. I think it'd be awesome if we could get nuclear power back on the board.
ReplyDeleteNuclear is one of the best green sources of energy available to us. While the emissions of the initial setup can be large, it can pay for itself in the long run. It's also among the safest sources, with far fewer deaths per unit of energy produced than even solar and hydro. Nuclear waste is a concern still, but newer power plants generate less waste and run more efficiently.
As I heard a different prof sum it up, "I'd rather there be an extremely toxic place [waste dump] in the world that I just never go to, instead of having an amount of toxin [coal ash, CO2, smog] in the air everywhere I go."
I think Whitmer's support in this project has the potential to make necessary changes, although I do think becoming reliant on nuclear power in it's still somewhat premature state further research should be prioritized as well as similar actions to switch to other renewable energy sources.
ReplyDeleteNuclear power is such a promising and next-generation future for energy. It has fewer accidents than all other plants. It is the most regulated and supported by the government. This is an amazing blog post with lots of good ideas about funding and Michigan's ability.
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