ENERCON is proud of our Environmental Assessment and role in the achievement of a historic milestone in the planned restart of the Palisades Nuclear Plant, the first of its kind in the U.S. to pursue restarting a permanently shut-down commercial nuclear reactor.

Project Overview 

Holtec International engaged ENERCON to support the environmental review process required for the restart of the Palisades Nuclear Plant. Our team was tasked with preparing a supplemental environmental document that would address all restart-related activities, assess changes to the site’s environmental conditions during decommissioning, and evaluate the proposed restart activities and resumed operating conditions against previous environmental impact reviews (i.e., new and significant information).

Our Role and Approach 

ENERCON led the development of the environmental report submitted to the NRC. Our scope included:

• Preparing a comprehensive environmental assessment document that included review of baseline environmental conditions and evaluation of potential impacts to sensitive resources including protected threatened and endangered species and cultural resources.
• Supporting stakeholder engagement and agency interactions.
• Supporting NRC’s environmental technical audit.
• Developing detailed responses to Requests for Additional Information (RAIs) and Requests for Clarifying Information (RCIs).
• Facilitating interactions with the NRC and other regulatory stakeholders.
• Supporting Holtec’s legal team in stakeholder contentions litigation.
• Developing a Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification application.

The Outcome 

The NRC has now issued its final Environmental Assessment (EA) in response to the submittal, concluding with a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the restart activities and resumed power operations. This finding signifies the successful completion of the NRC’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance process and is a major achievement for the Holtec/ENERCON team.

Why It Matters 

This project not only sets a precedent for future nuclear restarts in the U.S., but also reinforces ENERCON’s role as a trusted partner in navigating complex regulatory landscapes and delivering high-quality environmental and engineering support.

ENERCON is an industry leader in site licensing, engineering design/analysis and environmental services for the nuclear industry for over 40 years.  ENERCON is ranked by Engineering News Record as one of the top engineering design providers to the U.S. Nuclear Industry and is Engineer of Choice at over 90% of nuclear power plants across the US. We’re proud to support Holtec International, Palisades Nuclear Plant, and the Nuclear Power Industry with siting carbon-free energy solutions to meet America’s energy demands.