Palisades training centre gains INPO accreditation

Thursday, 24 July 2025

The single-unit pressurised water reactor on the shores of Lake Michigan permanently ceased operations on 20 May 2022, and its licence was transferred from previous operator Entergy Nuclear Operations to Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC and Holtec Palisades, LLC, for decommissioning. Holtec later announced it would pursue a restart of the shuttered unit, and in late 2023 began the process to obtain the licensing approvals needed to return the plant to operational status for the remainder of its licensing term.

To receive nuclear fuel and resume operations, plant operators must be trained at an accredited institution, making it a foundational element of the plant's return and the first major technical activity initiated in the restart process.

Since October 2023, Westinghouse's Training Resource Solutions team, in collaboration with Accelerant Training, created the Nuclear Excellence Academy (NEXA) to lead the effort to build a fully-accredited training system at Palisades.

NEXA has since delivered over 178,000 hours of instruction, supported by more than 50 senior trainers. Over the past 18 months, the team covered more than 1,000 training topics, and Palisades now has a full complement of in-house staff formally trained for every task required for plant operations.

Each accredited task, whether in operations or technical roles, is analysed to determine the most effective method of instruction. The aim - every employee knows exactly what to do and how to do it, in normal and emergency conditions. This level of training ensures every task is thoroughly analysed, formally taught and rigorously tested.

The accreditation process involved multiple inspections by the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), as well as training evaluation by the World Association of Nuclear Operators.

Palisade's training department has now achieved full accreditation from the INPO across all five key disciplines: operations, maintenance, chemistry, radiation protection and engineering. The most recent programmes to be accredited were maintenance and technical, following an in-person review held earlier this year.

Mike Mlynarek, Palisades Nuclear Power Plant Vice President. "This is a major milestone and a tremendous recognition of the quality, professionalism and ownership we are seeing across the board at Palisades."

Westinghouse Programme Training Manager Jason Woodworth added: "What began in a modest, decommissioned training facility at Palisades is now seen as a model of industry excellence. This effort has demonstrated what's possible when expertise, collaboration and vision come together. It underscores Westinghouse's commitment to operational excellence, nuclear safety and the growth of the workforce of the future.

"We are now in the process of finishing training the site utility staff and enrolling them in rigorous and robust requalification training that will continue their learning journey."

Earlier this month, Holtec informed the NRC that it had completed the necessary licensing activities to transition the Palisades nuclear power plant from decommissioning to operational status. Holtec is proposing the transition happens on 25 August.

Last month, the NRC issued its final environmental assessment and finding of no significant impacts for Holtec's request to return the Palisades Nuclear Plant to an operational status.

At the time it was taken out of service, Palisades was licensed to operate until 2031. Holtec notified the NRC last year that it intends to apply for a second, or subsequent, licence renewal for the plant during the first quarter of 2026. This would extend the plant's operating period by a further 20 years, to 2051.