Without the funding, the 50-year old Palisades plant is set to permanently shut down next month.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer is asking for funds under a new federal program to avert the decommissioning of the Palisades nuclear power plant in southwest Michigan.
Whitmer made the request in a letter to former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, who is now US Energy Secretary. Whitmer says keeping the plant open would help ensure the state’s energy security and help reduce carbon emissions.
Dan Scripps chairs the Michigan Public Service Commission, the state’s utility-regulating agency. He says there are a lot of pieces that must quickly fall into place.
“But at least there’s a way forward at this point, and so I think we’ve got an opportunity and we need to do the best we can to take it.”