COVERT, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Control room operators at Entergy’s Palisades Power Plant safely removed the nuclear reactor from service for the final time on Friday, May 20.
The Covert plant was originally scheduled to permanently shut down on May 31, but after careful monitoring, operators made the decision to shut down the plant early due to the performance of a control rod drive seal.
According to a plant spokesperson, the final shut down marks the end of more than 50 years of safe, secure, and reliable generation of clean, carbon-free electricity at Palisades, which began commercial operation in 1971.
Following the removal of used fuel from the reactor, the facility will be transferred to Holtec International for decommissioning, under the terms of an agreement between Entergy and Holtec International.
Announced in 2017, the shutdown of Palisades completes Entergy’s strategy to exit the merchant power generation business and coincides with the expiration of the station’s 15-year power purchase agreement with Consumers Energy.
In December 2021, the NRC approved the request to transfer the license from Entergy to Holtec International for purposes of the safe and timely decommissioning of Palisades following the plant’s permanent shutdown and reactor defuel.
The license transfer is scheduled for this summer.
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