Entergy’s Palisades Nuclear Plant Reopens After $58 M Upgrades and $63 M Fuel Upgrade

Entergy’s Palisades nuclear plant in southwest Michigan has resumed operations after a $58 million overhaul of equipment and inspections, coupled with a $63 million investment in fresh fuel.

The outage began on Sept. 16, 2015, when the plant entered a scheduled refueling shutdown and was back online on Oct. 19, 2015. During this period, 1,600 highly trained technicians leveraged $58 million to complete over 9,000 tasks—refueling, upgrades, inspections, and component replacements—to ensure the plant’s ongoing safety and reliability.

“The refueling outage was a tremendous success,” said Tony Vitale, Palisades site vice‑president. “Our maintenance, replacements, and upgrades position Palisades to provide another 18 months of safe, clean, reliable power to southwest Michigan.”

In addition, the outage incorporated safety upgrades mandated after the 2011 Fukushima incident. These measures strengthen the plant’s resilience against external events—tornadoes, flooding, and earthquakes.

Early September, the NRC inspected Palisades to review occupational radiation safety linked to control‑rod‑drive replacements from the 2014 outage. Following corrective actions, the NRC reinstated the plant to its highest safety category.

Entergy—a diversified energy firm focused on power generation and retail distribution—manages roughly 30 000 MW of electric capacity, nearly 10 000 MW of which is nuclear. This positions the company among the United States’ top nuclear generators.

Learn more at entergy.com.