BENTON HARBOR — A panel of federal regulators will hold a public meeting to discuss the efforts to restart the Palisades Nuclear Plant on Wednesday, April 17.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is holding a hybrid meeting to discuss the NRC’s Palisades Nuclear Plant Restart Panel’s activities to assess the plant’s “readiness to potentially resume operation in a way that ensures public health and safety.”

More: Department of Energy grants $1.5B loan to restart Palisades

Palisades closed for decommissioning in May 2022 and was sold to current owner Holtec that summer. In September of that year, a plan to restart the plant was announced. Although a first attempt for funding was rejected, a second, ongoing attempt was launched in early 2023.

In late March, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm announced in a visit to Palisades a $1.52 billion conditional loan to support Holtec’s efforts to restart the plant. One of the conditions for the loan is Holtec receiving NRC approval to reinstate its operating license.

At Wednesday’s meeting, officials will discuss the panel’s licensing reviews, inspection activities and environmental review pertaining to the potential restart. Members of the panel will discuss the NRC’s review process and offer opportunities for attendees to ask questions and make comments related to their presentation.

The public is welcome to attend the meeting, both in-person and virtually. It will run 6-8:15 p.m. Wednesday, April 17, at Lake Michigan College’s Grand Upton Hall, 2755 E. Napier Ave. in Benton Harbor.

According to the meeting posting, the event will begin with an open house from 6-6:30 p.m., which will not be included in the virtual portion of the meeting. Those participating virtually can join at 6:30 p.m.

To register to attend virtually, visit bit.ly/43TduDg. Those that register will receive an email with a link to join the meeting via Microsoft Teams.

Although comments and questions will be welcomed, the NRC is not “actively soliciting comments toward regulatory decisions” at the meeting, according to a notice.

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Palisades would be the first nuclear reactor in the United States to restart after being fully shut down for decommissioning. In addition to the recent federal funding commitment, Holtec has secured $150 million from the state of Michigan and signed a power purchase agreement with Wolverine Power Cooperative.

For more information, visit nrc.gov/info-finder/reactors/pali.

— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Federal regulators to discuss Palisades restart plans on April 17