Michigan set itself on a path toward unreliable and expensive electricity a few years ago, but a recent decision by a federal regulatory agency should bring some good news to the state.

Various laws, including Public Act 235 of 2023, require that least 60% of all electricity supplied to Michigan residents and businesses be met from solar or wind power by 2023. (Last year 13% came from those sources.) But wind and solar are unreliable, and the net-zero laws, enacted in the name of eliminating carbon-dioxide emissions from power plants, ignored nuclear power, which is emissions-free and reliable.

Holtec International will soon restart the closed Palisades nuclear plant, near South Haven. The company says it will add two small modular reactors, or SMRs, by 2031. This single project should generate almost as much power as all the wind and solar projects in Michigan.

Holtec, and Michigan, just received good news from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The NRC will let Holtec start preparing the Palisades site for reopening, even though regulators have yet to give their final approval for the entire project.

“The approval marks an important milestone toward initiating early site construction at the Palisades Energy Center in Covert, Michigan,” Holtec said in a press release.

Plans call for the Pioneer 1 SMR to start generating power in 2030, with the Pioneer 2 coming online in 2031. The NRC’s recent announcement firms up those target dates, meaning that Michiganders can look forward to having a revived source of emissions-free generating capacity.

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