The countdown to the restart of the Palisades nuclear power plant in Covert Township is now on with the weekend announcement that crews have begun loading fuel into the reactor vessel.
Holtec International Senior Manager of Communications Nick Culp tells us this is a major milestone and the first time since May of 2022 that fuel has been in place in the reactor. This officially puts Palisades on the path to a restart.
“And now we have entered what in the industry is referred to as Mode 6 six, or refueling,” Culp said. “It’s one of the operating modes that’s defined in our plant tech specs. We entered mode six officially with the commencement of dual loading this morning, and it’s the first in a defined progression of plant operating modes as we advance through the remaining activities required for startup.”
Culp says once fueling is done, the crews will begin moving toward Modes 5 through 1. At 1, the plant will be back online and synced to the grid. However, there are still a lot of testing, inspection, maintenance, and operational readiness activities needed to get there.
“We will be online when our work is complete, when we’ve met all of those technical specifications to work from Mode 6 to Mode 1, and we will be back online when all applicable federal requirements are met and all industry standards are met.”
Culp says that’s why Holtec still isn’t announcing a restart timetable. Nevertheless, he says says getting to this point was very exciting for the entire Palisades team. Now begins the work of completing those final tasks to ensure the resumption of power generation at Palisades is done safely.
