Fugro has secured a site investigation contract from Enercon Services for Holtec International’s 800MW Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan, US.
Under the contract, the company will assess geological, geophysical, and geotechnical conditions for the planned construction of twin SMR-300 small modular reactors (SMRs) at the site.
Enercon, a provider of engineering services to the US nuclear industry, is working with Holtec to support the preparation of the construction permit application (CPA) for the SMR project.
Enercon engineering vice president Jay Basken said: “Enercon is excited to partner with Fugro in support of geotechnical investigation for the siting of two Holtec SMR-300 units at the existing Palisades Nuclear Plant site.
“The Holtec SMR-300 design is one of the first SMRs in the United States that is undergoing site investigation.”
Fugro’s role includes the development of preliminary safety analysis reports 2.5.4 and 2.5.5 for the CPA, in compliance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 50, for submission to the NRC.
Fugro North America consulting and site screening director Osman El Menchawi said: “This is an exceptional opportunity to team up with Enercon on a groundbreaking project that aims to integrate a soon-to-be restarted nuclear power plant with SMRs, collectively providing 1,400 megawatts of energy.
“We’re here to support that kind of large-scale innovation from companies like Holtec, advancing efficient, clean energy production in the US.”
Located along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan in Covert Township, the Palisades nuclear facility is a single-unit pressurised water reactor with associated plant equipment and site infrastructure.
The project is part of Holtec’s efforts to restart operations at the Palisades site, which was permanently shut down by Entergy in May 2022 before being acquired by Holtec the following month for decommissioning.
In October 2023, Holtec applied to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for federal re-authorisation to restart the facility, positioning it to become the first successfully restarted nuclear power plant in the US.
The plant’s restart is backed by a $1.52bn loan guarantee from the US Department of Energy (DOE), announced in September 2024, to support its restoration and resumption of operations.
Once reactivated, the plant is expected to generate clean baseload power until at least 2051, subject to regulatory approvals.
Holtec anticipates that restarting the facility will prevent approximately 4.47 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, amounting to a total reduction of 111 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over 25 years of operation.
