Cadillac-based Wolverine Power Cooperative will receive hundreds of millions of dollars of federal grant money, announced Thursday, to purchase nuclear power from the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant near South Haven.
That means the plant could soon supply a majority of the energy going to five electric co-ops on Michigan’s lower Peninsula.
First, Palisades has to reopen. That’s expected to happen in Fall of 2025. It’s been closed since 2022.
Wolverine's federal grant is contingent on the plant reopening. Once the award is finalized, Wolverine estimates $600 million will go towards the project over the course of 20 years.
Wolverine is the sole supplier of power to northern Michigan’s Cherryland Electric, Great Lakes Energy, and Presque Isle Electric & Gas – in addition to Midwest Energy & Communications and HomeWorks Tri-County Electric, further downstate. Those are all nonprofit electric cooperatives.
According to Wolverine's website, the co-op's energy mix is made up of 20% renewable energy, 40% nuclear, 20% coal, and 20% oil. Their Vice President of Communications & Member Service, Casey Clark, says the grant will enable them to change their power supply dramatically.
“The restart of the Palisades plant puts Wolverine on track to reach 100% carbon-free energy before 2030, which is 10 years ahead of the state’s carbon-free target,” said Clark.
With the grant, Wolverine Power would buy more than half of the nuclear power produced at Palisades.
Clark said, “the plan is to continue to add renewable investment projects, and then the nuclear energy from Palisades will make up the balance.”
She added that sourcing energy from Palisades is “the perfect scenario” for maintaining electric reliability and meeting decarbonization goals.
Nuclear power complies with Michigan’s 2023 Clean Energy Future legislation, requiring utilities to source all their energy from carbon-free sources by 2040.
The grant Wolverine received to purchase nuclear power from Palisades comes from the $9.7-billion dollar Empowering Rural America program to build up carbon-free rural power grids, part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
Wolverine Power Cooperative is the only Michigan-based energy co-op that was chosen for the first round of funding.
Palisades’ restart will be the first time a nuclear plant in the United States has shuttered and reopened.