Investigation of Michigan nuclear power plant reveals extensive safety issues

Weeks after Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s announcement that the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant is set to reboot, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission continues to find alarming levels of equipment damage unexpectedly caused by the extended shutdown of the plant.

The plant, designed in 1960 and never upgraded to include modern industry-standard safety measures, was shut down in May 2022 and sold the next month to Holtec International. Since then, the company has received a $1.52 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy and a $1.3 billion grant from the Department of Agriculture, as well as $300 million from Michigan 2025 budget to restart the plant. If all goes according to plan, Palisades is expected to be the first successfully restarted nuclear power plant in American history.

But the multiple new safety issues recently discovered by the NRC and analyzed by nuclear experts may delay or even permanently halt the project.

The NRC’s October report revealed rapid degradation of the plant’s steam generator tubes since its last inspection in 2020, with stress corrosion cracking now affecting up to 1,400 steam generator tubes across both units. Some cracks neared 90% through-wall depth in just one operating cycle, undermining the plant’s ability to safely return to service.

Part of the unexpectedly rapid damage is due to the age of the two steam generators and tubes, which were installed in 1990 using Alloy 600 material, now known for its particular susceptibility to stress corrosion cracking. Additionally, the tubes were improperly laid up during the two-year shutdown period, causing 700 tubes in one steam generator and 248 in the other to now require significant repair.

Alan Blind, a former nuclear plant manager and design engineering manager at Palisades who has spent 40 years holding high positions in the nuclear industry, has urged the NRC since July to rigorously investigate the plant and ensure it complies with modern safety regulations.

“The Palisades restart is unprecedented. It represents the first time a plant with such thin safety margins and outdated design has been considered for reactivation,” said Blind, who supports nuclear energy. “Palisades has not been modernized to meet current safety standards…The concern is that stress corrosion cracking can lead to sudden tube rupture under accident conditions, allowing radioactive material to bypass containment structures.”

The situation at Palisades is hardly unique. New York’s now-defunct nuclear plant Indian Point Energy Center was set to reopen in 2000, but years of closure had generated similar safety issues that ultimately ended the venture.

But Holtec Palisades' senior manager of government affairs and communications Nick Culp said in an interview that the company remains optimistic that the plant will restart by fall 2025.

“The latest information will not derail [Holtec] from its timetable,” Culp said, revealing Holtec’s plans to stabilize and plug all damaged tubes, rather than taking the costly and time-consuming route of replacing the tubes.