The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is preparing to oversee a restart of a shuttered nuclear power plant for the first time — the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan. Other reactors have successfully restarted after stretches of inactivity but Palisades was in the process of being decommissioned and no longer has its operating license, so it faces a complicated — and unprecedented — path forward, helped in large part by a $1.52 billion conditional loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss what it will take to restart the Palisades plant, which could provide carbon-free electricity for 800,000 homes.
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Let’s start with some basics about traditional nuclear power, which we discussed recently in Uranium Fever. The Palisades plant is a pressurized water reactor (PWR), the most common design in operation, which uses uranium pellets to heat water through fission. (Fission occurs when a neutron hits a larger atom, splitting it into two smaller atoms.) The high-pressure hot water is used to boil water in the steam generators and produce steam. The steam is then used to spin large turbines that drive electric generators to produce electricity. Large nuclear power plants like Palisades can have an output of more than 1,000 megawatts (MW) and deliver up to 24 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) daily. They are mostly built on site and can cost many billions to construct and operate. Most nuclear plants in the U.S. have large concrete domes covering the reactors to contain any accidental radiation releases. Some have cooling towers and some use water from lakes, rivers or the ocean for cooling, meaning that access to large amounts of water is essential.
Figure 1. The Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan. Source: RBN
The Palisades Nuclear Plant, which operated from December 1971 to May 2022, has a complicated and polarizing history. The 800-MW facility is located on the shores of Lake Michigan (see Figure 1), nestled between the touristy beach getaway of South Haven and the Benton Harbor area. It was operated by the Nuclear Management Co. and CMS Energy until its sale to Entergy in April 2007 for $380 million.
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About the song
“Coming Back to Life” was written by David Gilmour and appears as the eighth song on Pink Floyd’s 14th studio album, The Division Bell. Gilmour has said that the song was about his wife, author Polly Samson. It is the only song from the album to be credited solely to Gilmour. Personnel on the record were: David Gilmour (vocals, guitar), Richard Wright (synthesizers, organ), Nick Mason (drums), Guy Pratt (bass), and Gary Wallis (percussion).
The Division Bell was recorded between January and December 1993 at Britannia Row, Astoria, Abbey Road and Metropolis in London, with production handled by Bob Ezrin and Gilmour. Released in March 1994, the album went to #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. It has been certified 3x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Two singles were released from the LP.
Pink Floyd was an English rock band formed in London in 1964 by Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, Roger Waters, Richard Wright and Bob Klose. Six people have passed through the band from its inception until its official breakup in 1994. The band reunited for a one-off benefit concert in 2005 and an appearance at a Syd Barrett tribute concert in 2007. Syd Barrett died in 2006 and Richard Wright in 2008. Drummer Nick Mason is the only Pink Floyd member who was there from the start of the band until the end. The band has released 15 studio albums, four live albums, nine compilation albums, six EPs and 27 singles. They have sold more than 250 million records worldwide. They are members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the UK Music Hall of Fame. Gilmour, Waters and Mason have separate careers and continue to record and tour as solo artists.
