MSEF-SH January 2017 Statement on Planned Closure of Palisades Nuclear Plant
 
We, Michigan Safe Energy Future-Shoreline (MSEF-SH) members, support and are glad to hear of plans to permanently close Palisades Nuclear plant on October 2018. 
 
We ask that the following items be addressed and communicated to our community immediately:
 
1. Entergy/NRC Region III, please provide a detailed plan to be shared with our community that describes the timeline, finances on reserve and actions that will be required to COMPLETELY restore the site to its natively safe and uncontaminated level.
 
2. We ask that the Palisades Decommissioning Fund be rapidly filled by Entergy Corporation profits to match the dollars required by the NRC in the escrow account BEFORE October 2018.  Once the plant is fully decommissioned, any remaining funds in the escrow account may then be returned to Entergy Corp.  The Decommissioning Funds must be placed into low-risk, diversified bank accounts to avoid repeating the losses to the fund that occurred during the 2008 financial crisis when the fund was held in the stock market.
 
3. We ask that the plant be fully decommissioned and not placed into “SAFSTOR” for an indefinite amount of time.   Placing a plant into “SAFSTOR”, would push the cost of the decommissioning on future generations who did not benefit from its operation and who may not have the financial or technical resources to decommission it safely.
 
4. We ask that high level nuclear wastes currently stored at the site be relocated from their current location on the shore of Lake Michigan to a location further from the shoreline in Hardened On-Site Storage.  This will allow for erosion of the shoreline over the ensuing centuries to not endanger our community and future generations.
 
In addition, we will work to educate and support replacing this industry by attracting future fossil-free, renewable energy business such as Solar production to come into the community and help employ and contribute to the area’s economy and tax base.

Upcoming Events:

There's still time to contact the Michigan Public Service Commission

​A negotiated early buyout of the fifteen-year power purchase agreement (PPA) between Entergy Nuclear and Consumers Energy triggered the Palisades shutdown plan. The PPA went into effect in 2007 when Consumers sold Palisades to Entergy. Both sides want to terminate the PPA four years early because (1) Entergy can no longer profitably produce market-priced electricity at Palisades and (2) Consumers wants to stop overpaying for electricity. The Michigan Public Service Commission, which must sign off on the plan, has been considering the case (No. U-18250) since early this year. The MPSC must determine whether Consumers’ plan to finance the cost of the PPA buyout is fair to ratepayers and whether Michigan can get along without Palisades’ electricity. At a public hearing on May 8, MPSC Chairman Sally Talberg said the Commission is “committed to issue a decision by August of 2017.” 

Until then, MPSC will accept public comments in the case. The mailing address is Executive Secretary, Michigan Public Service Commission, 7109 West Saginaw Street, Lansing, Michigan, 48917. Or you can email your comments to mpscdockets@michigan.gov.   IMPORTANT: Letters and emails should reference MPSC Case No. U-18250.

Meetings:

We move forward on the decommissioning work and the next regional meeting is on Saturday, October 14th from 12-3 at the South Haven Memorial Library.

Palisades Shutdown Campaign Team, Michigan Safe Energy Future-Kalamazoo Chapter:
For information, please contact Iris Potter, Coordinator, 269-271-4342. 

​CANCELLED--MSEF-SH Monthly Meeting, Saturday, September 9, 2017, 1-3 PM at South Haven Memorial Library 
​MSEF-SH Monthly Meeting, Saturday, November 11, 2017, 1-3 PM at South Haven Memorial Library

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