Michigan nuke plant closure now in ’22

COVERT TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The planned closure of the Palisades nuclear power plant in southwestern Michigan will be delayed by four years until spring of 2022, Entergy Corp. said Thursday.

The announcement came after the Michigan Public Service Commission said last week that Consumers Energy could opt out of buying power from the plant but couldn’t recover all of the $172 million requested as part of the deal.

Entergy said Consumers Energy would have been able to recover $136.6 million through surcharges to electric customers.

“We greatly appreciate the continued patience of our employees and the local community in southwest Michigan throughout this regulatory process, and we will continue to focus on the plant’s safe and reliable operations,” Charlie Arnone, site vice president and Entergy’s top official at Palisades, said in a statement.

The Palisades Power Plant employs about 600 workers and generates enough electricity to power more than 800,000 homes. The planned 2018 closure had prompted worries about the future for workers at the major employer in the region, but had been welcomed by environmental activists.

Covert school Superintendent Bobbi Morehead said people were dancing with excitement when they heard the new date.

“It means everything to Covert public schools. They’re literally half of our budget,” she said of Palisades’ property taxes.