Palisades owner touts ‘ultra-safe' small modular reactor
COVERT TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Holtec International says it intends to build the United States' first small modular reactors at the Palisades nuclear power plant in Covert Township.
'We're here to officially launch our SMR program to deploy America's first small modular reactor, our SMR-300, by 2030,' said Rick Springman, president of Global Clean Energy Opportunities with Holtec, during a Tuesday news conference at the Palisades plant. 'The first SMR-300 units will be constructed at this very location where you all sit today, right here in Covert, Michigan.'
Holtec, which owns Palisades, has been working to reopen the plant after it closed in May 2022. Last year, the federal government announced the approval of a to support the reopening of the plant, which would mark the first restart of a closed nuclear reactor in U.S. history.
'This site is now undeniably ground zero for the nuclear renaissance,' Springman said.
An inside look at work to restart Palisades nuclear plant
He described the SMR-300 as a new piece of technology that's 'smaller, inherently safe and easy to build.' Holtec, which has been working for more than a decade to develop the technology, says one reactor is capable of powering 300,000 homes.
The technology is also 'ultra-safe,' according to Holtec CEO Kris Singh.
'We call our reactor 'walk-away safe.' It is walk-away safe. It's Fukushima-proof,' Singh said, referring to in Japan.
He later acknowledged that nothing can be unconditionally safe, but said Holtec has taken into account lessons learned from decades of nuclear history.
'Every possible way a reactor way could go out of control has been considered and solutions developed and incorporated in the new reactor,' Singh said.
Nuclear experts share safety plans for Palisades restart
Holtec's goal is to have the first SMR-300 units on the grid by the end of 2030.
At Tuesday's news conference, the company signed a cooperation agreement for the construction of SMRs with Hyundai Engineering & Construction.
'Holtec and Hyundai E&C have maintained a close and cooperative relationship since establishing our partnership in 2021,' Hyundai Engineering & Construction CEO Hanwoo Lee said.
Springman said he expects the project to lead to the deployment of hundreds of SMR-300s across the world.
Holtec President Kelly Trice also offered an update on the restart of the Palisades plant Tuesday, saying the plant was almost fully staffed and the process was 'on budget and on schedule.' Officials hope the plant will be up and running by October.
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