Holtec to get $1.5 bln loan to re-open Michigan nuclear power plant -source
Adds Loan Programs Office response, paragraph 8
By Timothy Gardner
Jan 30 (Reuters) -Holtec International is set to get a $1.5 billion conditional loan in February from the U.S. Energy Department to help it restart the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan, a person with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.
The loan from the Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office (LPO) is likely to be announced in late February, the person said, declining to be identified as the information was not yet public.
The energy technology firm said it was "optimistic" about the federal loan process, which would help the company re-open a closed U.S. nuclear power plant for the first time in history.
"We hope for a timely approval to bring the plant back to full power operation toward the end of 2025," said Holtec spokesperson Nick Culp, declining to comment on the size or timing of the loan.
Florida-based Holtec bought Palisades in 2022 from Entergy ETR.N to decommission the plant after it struggled to compete with natural gas-fired plants and renewable energy.
After interest rose from the administration of President Joe Biden in low-carbon power from nuclear energy, Holtec filed in October with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to reopen the 800-megawatt plant, while also applying for an LPO loan.
The Biden administration believes nuclear power is essential in the fight against climate change and for its goals to decarbonize the grid by 2035 and the economy by 2050. Nuclear plants are also a source of some of the highest-paying union jobs in the energy industry.
The LPO saidit could not confirm or deny the existence of an applicantas the informationis business confidential.
Bloomberg first reported that theadministration was poised to loan the company $1.5 billion as soon as next month, citing sources.
Holtec in September signedan agreement with Wolverine Power Cooperative, a not-for-profit energy provider, for the purchase up to two-thirds of the power generated by Palisades.
The Biden administration earlier this monthfinalized $1.1 billion in credits to keep PG&E Corp's PCG.N Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in operation in California.
Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru and Timothy Gardner in Washington; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Christopher Cushing and Mark Porter
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