US News
Three shuttered US nuclear plants face federally backed restart efforts
ABC News reports the Energy Department is lending up to $4.4 billion to restart three shuttered nuclear plants in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Iowa.
The short version
- The US is attempting to restart three shuttered nuclear plants: Palisades in Michigan, Crane in Pennsylvania and Duane Arnold in Iowa.[ABC News]
- The Energy Department is lending up to $4.4 billion to restore a combined 2.25 gigawatts, and two plants have Big Tech contracts for carbon-free data center power.[ABC News]
- Holtec paused fuel loading at Palisades after a fuel assembly tilted, while Crane is targeted for 2027 and Duane Arnold for early 2029.[ABC News]
- Experts dispute the spending: Edwin Lyman says safety should come first, Jack Spencer calls it a poor use of taxpayer money, and Jennifer Gordon sees effective use of federal financing.[ABC News]
Key facts
- The United States is attempting to revive three shuttered nuclear plants: Palisades in Michigan, Crane Clean Energy Center in Pennsylvania, and Duane Arnold in Iowa.[ABC News]
- The Department of Energy is lending as much as $4.4 billion to restart the three plants, aiming to restore a combined 2.25 gigawatts of electricity.[ABC News]
- Two of the plants have contracts with Big Tech companies to provide carbon-free energy for data centers.[ABC News]
- Holtec paused loading nuclear fuel at Palisades after a fuel assembly tilted from its upright position.[ABC News]
- NextEra Energy and Google are collaborating to restart Duane Arnold by early 2029.[ABC News]
- Constellation Energy announced in 2024 a $1.6 billion plan to restart the Crane reactor under a 20-year Microsoft agreement, hoping to bring it online in 2027.[ABC News]
- No commercial nuclear reactor is known to have resumed generating electricity after beginning the decommissioning process.[ABC News]
What remains uncertain
- Palisades' restart timing is uncertain because fuel loading was paused after a fuel assembly tilted.[ABC News]
- The Crane (2027) and Duane Arnold (early 2029) return dates are company plans, not confirmed completion dates.[ABC News]
- Edwin Lyman says safety upgrades are not yet being made and that taxpayer money should address safety risks first; this is his disputed assessment.[ABC News]
- Whether restarts are a good use of taxpayer money is disputed, with Jack Spencer opposing and Jennifer Gordon supporting the approach.[ABC News]
Sources
Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.