COVERT, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – There was a mixed reaction to Thursday’s announcement that the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant near Covert would remain open for another three and a half years.
Pointing to last Friday’s Michigan Public Service Commission order reducing by about a fifth Consumers Energy’s request of 172 million dollars for the buyout of an existing power purchase agreement that would’ve led to the closing of the facility on October 1st, 2018, plant operator Entergy said that it would continue producing electricity at Palisades until the spring of 2022, when the PPA was set to expire. The operator said that the lower cost of producing power through other sources, specifically natural gas, had led to the decision to shut the plant down.
In reaction to the announcement, Consumers Energy stated that, “We appreciated the thoughtful, deliberate approach by all parties during the process,” while St. Joseph Republican Fred Upton, Chairman of the House Energy Subcommittee, said that he was “delighted to hear the news,” and state House Republican Representatives Mary Whiteford of Casco Township and Beth Griffin of Mattawan said that keeping Palisades open “strengthens our communities” as they work “with local leaders to prepare for that time when the plant does indeed close.”
Kevin Kamps of Maryland-based Beyond Nuclear, the most vocal group opposed to the continued operation of the plant, citing age and operational issues, called Consumers Energy and Entergy “hostage takers” who “demanded a ransom from ratepayers. (The) MPSC did not agree to the full amount demanded, so that hostage takers have refused to release the hostages.”
