US attempts first-ever restarts of three shuttered nuclear plants, backed by up to $4.4bn in loans

Mixed · 2The United States is making what the Associated Press calls an unprecedented attempt to revive three shuttered nuclear plants to meet rising electricity demand, including from large data centres. 1 2 Mixed · 2No commercial nuclear reactor is known to have resumed generating electricity after beginning the decommissioning process, though some have restarted after long outages. 1 2 Mixed · 2The Department of Energy is lending as much as $4.4 billion to restart Palisades in Michigan, the Crane Clean Energy Center at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania and Duane Arnold in Iowa, which would restore a combined 2.25 gigawatts, enough for roughly 2 million homes and businesses. 1 2

Mixed · 2All three plants closed before their licences expired, largely because their electricity was considered too expensive. Two now have contracts with Big Tech companies willing to pay a premium for carbon-free power for data centres, and the Trump administration is pushing nuclear power for artificial intelligence and manufacturing. 1 2 Mixed · 2Palisades, which ran from 1971 to 2022 and whose licence lasted until 2031, is furthest along. Holtec International bought it from Entergy and began dismantling it, though no step was irreversible; Michigan officials encouraged a reopening and provided funding. The Biden administration approved a $1.5 billion loan in 2024 and the Trump administration continued the payments. 1 2 Mixed · 2In August Holtec began loading fuel, one of the last major steps before restart, but paused after a fuel assembly tilted from its upright position while it determined why. Its power purchase agreements require Palisades to be in service by March 2027. 1 2

Mixed · 2NextEra Energy, which owns Duane Arnold, and Google aim to restart it by early 2029. The plant opened in 1975 and shut in August 2020 after storm damage from a derecho, shortly before its planned October 2020 closure. NextEra CEO John Ketchum said officials "felt really good about the ability to bring it back" and that the Google contract means no costs fall on Iowa residential customers. 1 2 Mixed · 2Microsoft has a contract for Crane at Three Mile Island, site of the nation's worst commercial nuclear accident in 1979. Exelon shut the plant's remaining reactor in 2019, citing losses and Pennsylvania lawmakers' refusal to subsidise it. Constellation Energy announced in 2024 it would spend $1.6 billion on a restart under a 20-year Microsoft agreement, hopes to return online in 2027, and received a $1 billion Energy Department loan. Deputy Energy Secretary James Danly toured the site last week. 1 2 Mixed · 2Todd Allen of the University of Michigan said a restart is a relatively quick and cheaper route to large amounts of zero-carbon power than a new large reactor, though it requires rehiring trained workers, maintenance, fuel and regulatory relicensing. 1 2

Mixed · 2Opinion among experts is divided. Edwin Lyman of the Union of Concerned Scientists said the plants could be restored if the right safety level and funds were set, but "That's not happening at this point," citing ageing designs and worsening extreme weather. Jack Spencer of the Heritage Foundation called restarts a poor use of taxpayer money since demand is massive and the projects low-risk, while Jennifer Gordon of the Atlantic Council called federal financing a terrific way to get needed electricity. 1 2 Mixed · 2The World Nuclear Association said restarts should be celebrated but preventing early closures would be best. It expects Palisades to be the first plant worldwide to resume generating after decommissioning began, noting that Canada, Armenia, Belgium, Japan, India and South Korea have restarted or refurbished reactors after long shutdowns. 1 2