Vital Energy
Economic Impact
The Palisades Power Plant generates 798 megawatts of electricity, or 18 percent to 30 percent of the electric power used in our area depending on time of year and load on the grid. Palisades provides power to millions of homes, thousands of businesses, and hundreds of critical transportation, health and municipal systems throughout Michigan. Replacing the 798 megawatts would cost millions of dollars a year in electricity costs, and would lead to electricity shortages, price spikes of as much as 40 percent, and rolling blackouts.
Nuclear energy is a price-stable energy source and does not fluctuate like natural gas prices or other fossil fuels. For Michigan's electrical grid, closing Palisades would reduce the amount of power available by six percent. Resulting blackouts will cost area businesses an additional $1.2 billion.
The Local Economy
Palisades Power Plant employs 600 highly skilled, highly trained workers. The annual economic impact of Palisades' payroll and local purchases is $150 million per year. In 2006 alone, the plant paid $13.6 million in local taxes, including sales tax, payroll taxes, property taxes and state/local income taxes. This does not include the significant personal and property taxes paid by individual Entergy employees. Closing the site would mean municipalities, schools and services that depend upon the tax revenue would see a dramatic decrease in their tax collections that would have to be made up in other ways.
Alternative Power
Replacing the Palisades' 798 megawatts could mean building new power plants that burn fossil fuel, adding new high-voltage transmission lines and building new pipelines. It could also dramatically increase Michigan's dependence on imported power. Additionally, Michigan's alternative power sources, such as wind, solar and biomass, currently make up less than one percent of the state's total electric generation. Atmospheric conditions, land resources required and reliability are factors that make alternatives to Palisades' generation unsuitable.