Holtec Palisades, the nuclear power plant that is scheduled to make history by restarting operations after being shut down forever, will also go down in history for another reason. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has granted it a one-time license amendment to handle the fuel assembly with special equipment after a mishap on August 30 left the assembly tilted at a 30-degree angle. 

Located on a 432-acre site, five miles away from South Haven, Michigan, the Palisades nuclear power plant is home to a single pressurized water reactor. It can produce upto 725 megawatts of electricity. Entergy operated the plant, shut it down in 2022, and sold it to Holtec for dismantle and remove radioactive waste. 

Soon after the acquisition, though, Holtec received financial backing to restart operations and even secured a power-purchase agreement to facilitate the restart. In early August, fuel loading began at the reactor site, marking a major milestone toward the restart.  However, for several weeks, the company did not disclose anything about a mishap that prevented it from completing the work. 

During a regular refueling operation, a machine moves the fuel assembly through an underwater transfer tube connecting the reactor cavity to the spent fuel pool. However, during its refueling operation at Palisades, one nuclear fuel assembly tilted from its upright position inside the reactor vessel. It remained lodged at a 30-degree angle, with its lower end resting on the reactor core and its upper end against the core shroud. 

Even though the fuel rods and cladding of the reactor vessel remain intact, the assembly frame has been affected by screws in the facing damage that hamper the team’s ability to lift it with normal equipment.

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