COVERT, Mich. — Entergy has announced that it has completed the sale of the subsidiary that owns the Palisades Power Plant to Holtec International. Holtec is planning to safely and timely decommission the nuclear site.
The sale is part of Entergy’s plan to exit the nuclear merchant power business. The company previously closed and sold its Vermont Yankee, Pilgrim, and Indian Point plants. It has also sold the operating James A. Fitzpatrick plant.
The transfer of the Palisades Power Plant’s license from Entergy to Holtec for decommission was approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in December 2021. This purchase also gives Holtec ownership of the decommissioned Big Rock Point site in Charlevoix, Michigan.
Entergy announced its plan to close the Palisades Power Plant in 2016. It was permanently shut down on May 20, 2022.
“We thank the excellent employees of Palisades for their dedication to safe, secure, and reliable operations and we look forward to many of them continuing on with Entergy at new locations within our utility service area,” said Entergy Chairman and Chief Executive Office Leo Denault. “We remain committed to our four nuclear power stations in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The clean, carbon-free energy they produce is a key part of Entergy reaching its 2050 net-zero emissions commitment.”
“We are pleased to be acquiring these facilities to add to our growing decommissioning fleet,” said Kelly Trice, President of Holtec Decommissioning International. “We are also pleased that the talented, knowledgeable, and hard-working team at Palisades is joining the Holtex team. These team members will continue to deploy the same cutting-edge technologies that we have employed at Indian Point, Pilgrim, and Oyster Creek to ensure maximum worker safety, protection of the environment, preservation of the well-being of the local community, and to build upon the excellence achieved at other plants in our fleet.”
