Holtec is planning to build its first two SMR-300 small modular reactors at the Palisades nuclear power station site, with the first commissioned by mid-2030, the company said.
Holtec bought Palisades in 2022 to decommission the 805-MW pressurised water reactor facility, which had struggled to compete with natural gas-fired plants and renewable energy.
The plant, in Covert Township, Michigan, was shut down about 10 days earlier than expected in May 2022, after discovery of a problem with a control rod drive seal.
Holtec initially planned to repurpose the 174-hectare site, but the Biden administration’s $6bn (€5.6bn) of aid for upgrading nuclear facilities in the US led the company to reconsider its plans.