We are pleased to share significant new milestones in our ongoing repowering effort to restart the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert Township, Michigan. This pioneering endeavor will bolster our national energy security and place Michigan at the forefront of the global drive to boost clean energy generation. Recent milestones, achieved under independent reviews conducted by the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), are both substantive and record setting.
Training Accreditation:听On August 9, 2024,听Palisades received听initial听accreditation for both its Operations and Maintenance & Technical training programs, winning unanimous approval from the National Nuclear Accreditation Board. This initial accreditation, which covers training, analysis, design, and development programs, is the essential prelude to the听final听accreditation, which will assess the implementation and effectiveness of the above programs. Once Palisades receives the final accreditation next year, it will become part of a select group of operating nuclear plants in the country with this prestigious certification.
Operator Licensing and Training:听In another major accomplishment, 26 former Palisades licensed operators have completed the requalification program to reclaim their NRC operating licenses. In addition, initial licensed and non-licensed operator classes that began in early 2024 are well underway, with these new licensed operators on track to receive their federal operating licenses in Spring 2025. Encouraged by this success, we have launched yet another round of operator training classes, underscoring our commitment to long-term operational excellence at Palisades. Our comprehensive curriculum includes concentrated classroom instruction, simulator training, and hands-on experience and will be supplemented with continuous training and testing throughout the operators’ careers.
Growing a Highly Qualified Workforce:听The Palisades workforce has been growing with over 240 personnel across multiple disciplines recruited year-to-date, bringing our permanent on-site workforce to over 470 full-time professionals. Our team is composed of experienced Palisades staff, industry veterans and newcomers, as well as skilled professionals from the trades, institutes of higher education, and the U.S. military. Their varied expertise, supported by hundreds of experienced industry contractors, vendors, and skilled trades, undergirds our ongoing march to a punctual restart.听
Restart Project Activities Proceeding on Schedule:听As a part of this repowering effort, Palisades is undergoing extensive inspections, testing, maintenance, system, and equipment upgrades and modifications to ensure long-term continuation as a safe, reliable nuclear power generator.听
Our most recent major project milestone was this month with the completion of reactor vessel internal inspections. These inspections were thoroughly conducted to rigorous industry and regulatory standards. Our team is now proceeding with scheduled steam generator cleaning and inspections within the Reactor Building.
In July, we successfully completed the plant鈥檚 first-ever chemical cleaning of its primary coolant system, which resulted in a significant reduction in background dose rates. This refurbishment project will yield long-term benefits by drastically reducing the occupational dose rates throughout the plant鈥檚 repowering efforts and its service life.
The above-mentioned achievements reflect our dedication to upholding the industry鈥檚 highest standards of safety and performance, paving the way for the Palisades turbines to roar back to life and produce clean nuclear energy by the fourth quarter of 2025. This would not have been possible without the wholehearted support of the Michigan state government and the plant鈥檚 host community.
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