The Biden administration is finalizing a $1.52 billion loan guarantee to support the first-ever restart of a shuttered U.S. nuclear plant to help achieve climate goals and satisfy an expected surge in demand for electricity.
A conditional loan guarantee for Holtec’s 800-megawatt Palisades nuclear plant in western Michigan was announced in March, almost two years after previous owner Entergy shut down the uncompetitive plant.
That was months before President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, his signature achievement on climate and a law that created the program that’s helping to revive Palisades. The goal is to boost the supply of carbon-free electricity and support union jobs.
The closure of Palisades also occurred before the jump in expected electricity demand in response to new manufacturing facilities, data centers and more electric vehicles on U.S. roadways, a confluence of factors that only complicates efforts to slash carbon emissions in line with federal, state and corporate goals.
