The Palisades Nuclear Plant was supposed to restart in October 2025, nearly six months ago, but that start time continues to be delayed by a slew of issues. Holtec, the owner of the plant, has no prior experience operating a nuclear plant and has been convinced to restart it, as state and federal funding was appropriated to reopen it. The Palisades plant was previously considered one of the worst performing nuclear plants in the nation.
Just hours after the nuclear fuel was delivered in preparation for the restart, a contracted technician fell in a reactor water-fill (pool) cavity above the fission reactor and had to be decontaminated on-site. He still had detected levels of radiation after the incident.
This was just the start. Below is a rundown of the issues that have piled up for Palisades since October.
November 2025: Environmental groups, including Beyond Nuclear, sued the federal government over the decision to restart Palisades. The groups argue the restart process has been rushed, irresponsible and illegal, citing federal law that prohibits a nuclear plant to resume operations once its gone into decommissioning.
December 2025: Holtec officially delayed their expected restart date from 2025 to early 2026. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) also reported a violation related to incorrect or missing documentation of safety-related equipment.
January 2026: Inspections and repairs proceeded on cracked steam generator tubes, with Holtec using specialized sleeves to repair the damage. Holtec acknowledged to the NRC that it lacked required quality assurance documentation.
February 2026: Original records regarding required weld reporting on the reactor are missing. Holtec is seeking "regulatory relief" from the NRC to use modern engineering analysis to replace the missing welding records.
March 2026: Holtec is seeking several exceptions from the NRC for work on a reactor that is noncompliant with modern construction standards, including admissions by the company that the plant has unauthorized nozzle welds at the bottom of control rod tubes.
So here we are in March and once again Palisades is behind schedule to reopen.