Press Releases

Today, Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI) released the following statement after the Department of Energy officially announced the conditional commitment of up to $1.52 billion for a loan to repower Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert, Michigan.

“Today’s announcement is a massive step towards restoring 800 megawatts of carbon-free energy generation and hundreds of highly skilled jobs right here in Michigan’s Fourth Congressional District. Holtec’s historic repowering of the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant will provide safe, reliable energy to meet Southwest Michigan’s growing needs, and it lays the groundwork for the first-of-their-kind small modular reactors to be placed at Palisades in the future. For these reasons, I’m proud to have led the bipartisan congressional effort on behalf of this project to lower energy costs, create jobs, and strengthen American energy security.”

Congressman Huizenga has been a vocal leader in the bipartisan effort to repower Palisades.

• In July, Huizenga pressed Special Presidential Envoy John Kerry on restarting Palisades and the importance of nuclear energy.
• In September, Huizenga discussed the importance of the power purchase agreement between Holtec and Wolverine Power Cooperative.
• In December, Huizenga led a bipartisan letter to the Department of Energy requesting a timely and responsible review of repowering Palisades.
• In January, Huizenga wrote about Fueling Southwest Michigan’s Future by Repowering Palisades
• In late January, when Bloomberg broke the news that the Department of Energy was moving forward on Palisades, Huizenga spoke about the impact on energy security and good paying jobs.
• In February, Huizenga visited Holtec International’s Corporate Technology Center in Camden, New Jersey to see work being done for Palisades.