VAN BUREN COUNTY, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — As an effort to reopen the Palisades nuclear power plant in Van Buren County is being considered in Washington D.C., Covert Township and it’s neighboring communities are counting on it staying closed for good.
A new evaluation from the University of Michigan’s Economic Growth Institute presented on Monday, January 24 indicated the negative effects the closure of the plant will have on the area’s economy along with ways those negative impacts could be rebuilt. Researchers are expecting employment services, restaurants, retail, and healthcare to be the industries in Van Buren County most affected by the plant’s closure.
The nuclear reactor was removed at Palisades for the final time in May 2022, with Holtec International taking control of the facility shortly after.
Holtec then applied for new federal funding to reopen the plant with the goal of keeping it operational through 2031. Despite the first effort of reopening being rejected by the U.S. Department of Energy, Holtec submitted a second application which is still pending.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has also been pushing for Palisades to reopen.
