Palisades, an 805 MWe PWR that shut in May 2022 and was bought by Holtec for decommissioning, is instead being restarted. Fuel loading began on 30 August 2026 but paused after a fuel assembly tipped in the vessel; Holtec's power contracts require it in service by March 2027.
New to decommissioning? The nuclear decommissioning market in 2026: size, players, pipeline
Current state
| Status | Restart planned |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Covert, Michigan |
| Site | Palisades Nuclear Plant |
| Units | Unit 1 |
| Unit count | 1 |
| Reactor types | PWR |
| Net capacity (MWe) | 805 |
| Owner / licensee | Holtec Palisades LLC (Holtec International) |
| Final shutdown | 2022-05 |
| Spent fuel | Fuel being loaded into reactor vessel for restart (204 assemblies, new and partially used); paused September 2026. |
| Notable issue | Would be the first US reactor returned to service after permanent shutdown; fuel-assembly tipping incident under NRC review. |
Notes
Restart, not decommissioning: covered in the restarts tracker under the same slug. Holtec also plans two SMR-300 units (Pioneer 1 & 2) at the site.
Timeline
- 2022-05 — Entergy permanently shut down Palisades. (source)
- 2025 — NRC approved the licence transfer and actions enabling a restart. (source)
- 2026-08-30 — Palisades entered Mode 6 and began loading fuel into the reactor vessel. (source)
- 2026-09-21 — Holtec disclosed that a fuel assembly had tilted during loading and that loading was paused pending a license amendment. (source)
The timeline is append-only: corrections are added as new entries. Stated targets appear in the current-state table, never as milestones.
Also tracked
NNN coverage
About Holtec International
- Holtec files Palisades SMR safety report with NRC 2026-10-03
- Analysts size Africa's SMR market at $105B, 15 GW by 2035 2026-09-07
- Palisades fuel loading: Holtec restart timeline and what comes next 2026-09-01
- The nuclear decommissioning market in 2026: size, players, pipeline 2026-07-14
- NRC opens environmental review of Holtec's Palisades new-build 2026-06-17
- The 7 nuclear stories that mattered this week 2026-10-03
About Palisades Nuclear Plant
- Fuel assembly incident pauses Palisades loading 2026-09-26
- The 8 nuclear stories that mattered this week 2026-09-05
- NRC finds two Green radiation-safety lapses during Palisades restart 2026-09-05
- The 8 nuclear stories that mattered this week 2026-09-26
- USDA opens $175M rural co-op fund to buy, build, or restart nuclear 2026-09-19
- The 6 nuclear stories that mattered this week 2026-09-12
Related sites
- Crystal River Unit 3 Site restoration · United States
- Dresden Unit 1 SAFSTOR · United States
- Duane Arnold Energy Center Restart planned · United States
- Fermi Unit 1 (Enrico Fermi Atomic Power Plant) SAFSTOR · United States
- Fort Calhoun Station Site restoration · United States
- GE Vallecitos (VBWR and EVESR) Active dismantling · United States
- Humboldt Bay Power Plant Unit 3 License terminated · United States
- Indian Point Energy Center (Units 1-3) Active dismantling · United States
See all 72 sites in the Nuclear Decommissioning Tracker →
Sources
- Palisades Begins the Process for Loading Fuel in its Reactor Vessel — Holtec International (primary), checked 2026-10-11
- Progress Report on Palisades' March to Startup — Holtec International (primary), checked 2026-10-11
- Nuclear regulators probe fuel assembly installation mishap at Palisades — Detroit Free Press, checked 2026-10-11
- Palisades — U.S. Department of Energy (primary), checked 2026-10-11
- Holtec Nuclear Corp Form S-1/A (2026) — U.S. SEC / Holtec (primary), checked 2026-10-11
- Decommissioning Nuclear Facilities — World Nuclear Association, checked 2026-10-11