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Michiganders: Don’t Let a Palisades Nuclear Bailout Backfire On Your Power Bills

Michiganders beware: Gov. Whitmer’s push for a last-minute federal bailout to keep the Palisades nuclear power plant from closing could backfire, increasing your utility bills, and possibly even costing thousands of jobs around the state. This would be a massive failure for climate, consumers, communities, and the environment.

Last week, the governor announced she is in a last-minute scramble to try to prevent the closure of Palisades next month, which has been planned since 2017. Whitmer says she has been in discussions with the nuclear plant’s owner, Entergy, and the US Department of Energy to take advantage of a $6 billion bailout program created by the bipartisan infrastructure law enacted last year.

Gov. Whitmer could make a big mistake. The truth is that no one is going to take over Palisades and continue running it without Michiganders footing the bill. The governor should use her authority to ramp up wind, solar, and energy efficiency--reducing electricity bills and creating thousands of jobs around the state. She has a duty to make sure the community and workers at Palisades land on their feet, help save the climate, and transition Michigan to an affordable, sustainable future with good jobs in the new energy economy.

Tell Gov. Whitmer and Secretary of Energy Granholm: No Bad Bailout for Palisades!

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Background

NIRS Blog: New Yorkers Paid Billions for a Bad Nuclear Bailout – Don’t Let Michigan Make the Same Mistake
Palisades Background
Don’t Waste Michigan
Michigan Safe Energy Future - Palisades Shut Down Campaign
Press Release: Palisades Is One of the Most Dangerous Atomic Reactors in the Country
Detroit News: Gov Whitmer Applies Aid to Stop Closure of Palisades Nuclear Plant

Civil Nuclear Credit

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA or the Act) directs the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) to establish a Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) Program to evaluate and certify nuclear reactors that are projected to cease operations due to economic factors and to allocate credits to selected certified nuclear reactors via a sealed bid process.

Under the law, to be eligible to receive credits, nuclear reactors must meet three criteria:

Be shown to be unprofitable
Be at imminent risk of closing in the next 2 years due to being unprofitable
The closure of the plant would result in an increase of greenhouse gas emissions.

DOE: Civil Nuclear Credit Program

Bulletin of Atomic Scientists: A $6 billion bailout for US nuclear power plants?

Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm

Subject: Civil Nuclear Credit Should NOT Bail Out Palisades

Message:

The Civil Nuclear Credit program must NOT be extended to bailout the Palisades nuclear reactors. Palisades’ owner, Entergy, has responded that it is too late to prevent the long-planned closure for good by May 31, 2022. Why hasn’t Whitmer, former governor Rick Snyder, or their Public Service Commission done anything about Palisades’ closure until now? They’ve all had five years to figure out how to cushion the blow to the 180 workers facing layoffs, support the local economy, and advance Michigan’s climate goals. The truth is that Palisades won’t be able to compete with wind and solar after its 15-year, overpriced contract to sell electricity to Consumers Energy expires in May. Entergy doesn’t want to continue running it, subsidies or not, and has already signed a contract to transfer ownership of Palisades to a nuclear waste company called Holtec, which plans to profit from its decommissioning. It would be an abuse of the Civil Nuclear Credit to bail out Palisades. In order to qualify for the CNC, Palisades’ owner must show that it will continue operating after the 4-year CNC subsidy ends. But the reactor wouldn’t be closing in the first place if Entergy or another company could run it profitably without subsidies or gouging consumers with over-priced contracts. To make that happen, Michigan will have to put ratepayers on the hook, one way or another. Energy companies are not public charities. They make decisions based on their bottom line, and if the government wants them to take a business risk, they don’t do it without getting paid, with a profit. No one is going to take over Palisades and continue running it without Michiganders footing the bill--and perpetually bailing out old nuclear power plants is not the way to spark the energy transition we need to save the climate, create good jobs, build a strong economy, and advance environmental justice. Palisades has one of the worst safety records in the nuclear industry, and Entergy has deferred essential maintenance for years. Wind and solar–even coupled with battery storage–are the cheapest electricity we can buy now, with no radioactive waste and no carbon pollution. Energy efficiency is even cheaper, saving households and businesses money on energy they’ll never have to buy. Make sure the community and workers at Palisades land on their feet, help save the climate, and transition Michigan to an affordable, sustainable future with good jobs in the new energy economy.

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Governor Whitmer (Michigan)

Subject: DOE Civil Nuclear Credit Program Should NOT Bailout Palisades

Message:

The Civil Nuclear Credit program must NOT be used to bail out the Palisades nuclear reactors. Palisades’ owner, Entergy, has responded that it is too late to prevent the long-planned closure for good by May 31, 2022. Palisades’ closure has been scheduled for five years. Rushing to stop it now risks sticking Michigan consumers and businesses with rate hikes and undermining the real solutions we need to save the climate, build a strong renewable energy economy, and create thousands of good jobs for people around the state. The truth is that Entergy doesn’t want to continue running Palisades after its 15-year, overpriced contract to sell electricity to Consumers Energy expires in May. Consumers Energy ratepayers have already been gouged for hundreds of millions in above-market prices for Palisades, even as Entergy cut corners on maintenance and nuclear safety. Entergy has already signed a contract to transfer ownership of Palisades to a nuclear waste company called Holtec, which plans to profit from its decommissioning. The just and equitable path now is to cushion the blow to the 180 workers facing layoffs, support the local economy, and advance Michigan’s climate goals. Don’t make the same mistake now that New York’s governor made in 2016, when Entergy decided to close the FitzPatrick nuclear power plant. Rather than ensure a just transition and reduce ratepayers’ bills by boosting energy efficiency and renewables, Cuomo put consumers on the hook for a $7.6 billion nuclear bailout in order to get another company to take over FitzPatrick. Energy companies are not public charities. They make decisions based on their bottom line, and if the government wants them to take a business risk, they don’t do it without getting paid, with a profit. No one is going to take over Palisades and continue running it without Michiganders footing the bill. Palisades wouldn’t be closing in the first place if Entergy or another company could run it profitably without subsidies or gouging consumers with over-priced contracts. Nuclear plants are only eligible for the federal bailout if they prove they can continue running after the federal subsidies end in four years. To make that happen, you would need to put ratepayers on the hook, one way or another. Wind and solar–even coupled with battery storage–are the cheapest electricity we can buy now, with no radioactive waste and no carbon pollution. Energy efficiency is even cheaper, saving households and businesses money on energy they’ll never have to buy. The right choice is to let Palisades close and focus on Michigan’s future. Make sure the community and workers at Palisades land on their feet, help save the climate, and transition Michigan to an affordable, sustainable future with good jobs in the new energy economy.

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Michiganders: Don’t Let a Palisades Nuclear Bailout Backfire On Your Power Bills

Tell Gov. Whitmer and Secretary of Energy Granholm: No Bad Bailout for Palisades!

Background

Civil Nuclear Credit

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