Hudson River Shore
Daniel Case
A shoreside, summertime view of the Hudson River at Norrie State Park in Staatsburg, New York, United States.
Holtec International, seeking a $10 billion valuation, plans to go public in early 2026. Here's what you should know:
Dr. Krishna P. Singh founded Holtec International (HI), a company that designs, manufactures, and deploys equipment and systems for the global energy industry, in 1986. By promising a safer, more efficient decommissioning process over eight to fifteen years, Holtec Decommissioning International (HDI), an HI subsidiary, acquires shutdown nuclear plants, their spent fuel, and the ratepayer-funded decommissioning trust funds (DTFs) associated with them. DTFs are collected by energy companies to secure financing for radiological decommissioning, spent fuel management, and site restoration, thereby protecting the public from incurring massive cleanup-related bills. HDI's accelerated process aims to shorten the time plants spend storing high-risk spent nuclear fuel on-site. All that being said, promises are just that, and Holtec's track record is controversial at best.
Holtec Internation (HI) Headquarters
Paul Matté
Holtec International (HI) Headquarters in Camden, New Jersey.
Holtec Internation (HI) Headquarters
Paul Matté
Holtec International (HI) Headquarters in Camden, New Jersey.
The problem with their business model is that it directly incentivizes them to decommission nuclear plants using the least possible capital from the DTF. Holtec did, after all, set a world record by defueling the Oyster Creek nuclear plant in the thirty-two months between its 2018 shutdown and May 2021. After “the Holtec team loaded 33 casks within 21 weeks,” according to World Nuclear News, “the protected area at the site… [was reduced] from approximately 150 acres to 6 acres." World records aside, Holtec can extend decommissioning timelines as it sees fit. The company extended its decommissioning timeline for the Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC) by an estimated eight years when New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) signed the “Save the Hudson” Act in 2023, banning, in general, the discharge of radioactive water, but specifically regarding IPEC, into the Hudson River.
Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station
Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, circa 1998, in Lacey Township, New Jersey. General Public Utilities operated the plant at the time.
Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station
Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, circa 1998, in Lacey Township, New Jersey. General Public Utilities operated the plant at the time.
The Discharge clause of the aforementioned bill reads as follows:
To the extent not subject to preemption by federal law, and notwithstanding any other state or local law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, it shall be unlawful to discharge any radiological substance into the Hudson River in connection with the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant.
The choice for New Yorkers was simple: either clean up the river or face eight additional years of risk. Holtec's choice was similarly simple.
Manhattan Skyline
City lights from the Manhattan skyline paint the Hudson River, as seen from Weehawken, New Jersey, United States.
Manhattan Skyline
City lights from the Manhattan skyline paint the Hudson River, as seen from Weehawken, New Jersey, United States.
The company sued the state of New York instead of extending its timeline. Their lawsuit alleges that, because the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 designates the NRC as the sole governing body with authority to regulate the discharge of radioactive materials from nuclear facilities, “the Discharge Statute is preempted under field and conflict preemption and because it has a 'direct and substantial effect' on a radiological safety decision” according to U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas’ decision. On September 24th, 2025, Karas ruled that Holtec was correct in their assertion. The District Judge ruled in favor of Holtec, stating that because “the chain of events that the Discharge Statute necessarily sets off clearly has a direct and substantial effect on those operating nuclear facilities,” the Discharge clause is preempted. Governor Hochul and New York State Attorney General Letitia James have stated their intention to challenge the ruling. Whether HDI used the DTF attached to IPEC to file its lawsuit against the state of New York hasn’t been disclosed.
Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC)
Peretz Partensky
A cross-river view of the Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC) in Buchanan, New York, United States.
Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC)
Peretz Partensky
A cross-river view of the Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC) in Buchanan, New York, United States.
The company's business model, which exchanges an accelerated decommissioning process for the excess funds in the corresponding DTF following decommissioning, raises concerns over the future of energy. In a March 2020 letter addressed to the NRC Rule-makings and Adjudications Staff, urging the NRC to block IPEC’s license transfer from Entergy to Holtec, then-Hudson River Sloop Clearwater Environmental Action Director Manna Jo Green wrote that:
Holtec has a track record of fighting further responsibility in court.
Palisades Nuclear Plant Annual Assessment
NRC staff answer questions from the public during the 2018 Palisades Nuclear Plant’s (PNP) annual assessment meeting in South Haven, Michigan. Jennivine Rankin, project manager for Palisades (middle). Julie Boettcher, resident inspector Palisades (ri
Palisades Nuclear Plant Annual Assessment
NRC staff answer questions from the public during the 2018 Palisades Nuclear Plant’s (PNP) annual assessment meeting in South Haven, Michigan. Jennivine Rankin, project manager for Palisades (middle). Julie Boettcher, resident inspector Palisades (ri
Between 2001 and 2002, Holtec bribed a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) employee and omitted the bribery in its 2014 application for New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) tax breaks. In response, the NJEDA declined to certify a second $26 million installment to Holtec at the end of the 2018 tax year, citing Holtec’s omission in its 2014 application for state tax credits of a 2010 60-day federal debarment it received as part of its penalty for the 2001-2002 bribery. In June 2019, Holtec responded by filing a lawsuit alleging that NJEDA’s reasons for declining to certify its tax credits were undue.
Unit 1 of the Palisades Nuclear Plant (PNP)
An aerial photograph taken circa 1974 of Unit 1 at the Palisades Nuclear Plant (PNP) in Covert Township, Michigan. The plant ceased operations in 2022, but may become the first nuclear facility to restart operations after decommissioning.
Unit 1 of the Palisades Nuclear Plant (PNP)
An aerial photograph taken circa 1974 of Unit 1 at the Palisades Nuclear Plant (PNP) in Covert Township, Michigan. The plant ceased operations in 2022, but may become the first nuclear facility to restart operations after decommissioning.
Palisades Nuclear Plant
The backside of the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert Township, Michigan, United States.
Palisades Nuclear Plant
The backside of the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert Township, Michigan, United States.
According to the lawsuit, “the Governor's Task Force on New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) Tax Incentives issued a report alleging Holtec had misrepresented facts in its application.” The presiding judge ruled that “certain provisions in the application were ambiguous,” and that “Holtec did not make any material misrepresentations in its application for tax credits.” The NJEDA acknowledged that it has approved tax credits to corporations that have engaged in corporate misconduct “without penalty.” Marcus Saldutti, an employee at NJEDA, said he could recall only one other time when an application was denied, which he called an “outlier.” The business in question, a marina, was partially owned by someone convicted of negligent homicide in 2007. “Saldutti acknowledged to the court "that… nothing ‘short of death’ would ‘constitute [] an outlier for the purpose of [NJ]EDA disqualifications for tax incentives.’” The NJEDA employee also acknowledged that “past misconduct, or non-disclosure of past misconduct, did not necessarily disqualify an applicant," begging the question: What does?
In a 2018 letter to the NRC, radioactive waste specialist for Beyond Nuclear, Kevin Kamps, wrote that the “NRC's flippant lack of concern about Holtec's… penchant for engaging in bribery/kickbacks, is shocking and outrageous." Pleading, the activist asked the commission, “How can NRC fulfill its mandate to protect public health, safety, and the environment, and to protect the common defense,” if it looks the other way when its licensees engage in bribery and then perjure themselves about it to acquire $260 million in tax credits? If the NRC won’t enforce its own corporate character and integrity requirements and its licensees won’t adhere to them, then who will?
Coastal view of the Palisades Nuclear Plant (PNP)
A coastal view of the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert Township, Michigan.
Coastal view of the Palisades Nuclear Plant (PNP)
A coastal view of the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert Township, Michigan.
Michigan's Palisades Plant Unit 1 Control Room
ENERGY.gov
Control room at the Consumer Power Company of Michigan's Palisades Plant Unit 1.
Michigan's Palisades Plant Unit 1 Control Room
ENERGY.gov
Control room at the Consumer Power Company of Michigan's Palisades Plant Unit 1.
Despite warnings from Kamps, Green, and environmental groups nationwide, the Department of Energy (DOE) guaranteed a $1.52 billion loan “to help finance the restoration and resumption of service of an 800-MW nuclear generating station in Covert Township, Michigan [at PNP],” in September 2024, according to the DOE. The department reports that Holtec intends to use PNP as ground zero for its “two small modular reactor units, which will not be part of the project that may be financed under this conditional commitment.” The NRC also "approved a series of requests from Holtec International," on July 24th, 2025, according to Reuters, "that lay the groundwork to restart the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan." These exemptions allow Holtec to rescind decommissioning certifications. While Holtec remains the owner of PNP, the renewed operating license for PNP and the general permit for the Palisades Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) were transferred to Holtec affiliate, Palisades Energy, LLC, on August 25th, 2025. As of the same date, PNP transitioned back under the NRC's Reactor Oversight Process (ROP), the NRC's "program to inspect, measure, and assess the safety and security performance of operating commercial nuclear power plants, and to respond to any decline in their performance."
Unit 1 of the Palisades Nuclear Plant (PNP)
An aerial photograph taken circa 1974 of Unit 1 at the Palisades Nuclear Plant (PNP) in Covert Township, Michigan. The plant ceased operations in 2022, but may become the first nuclear facility to restart operations after decommissioning.
Unit 1 of the Palisades Nuclear Plant (PNP)
An aerial photograph taken circa 1974 of Unit 1 at the Palisades Nuclear Plant (PNP) in Covert Township, Michigan. The plant ceased operations in 2022, but may become the first nuclear facility to restart operations after decommissioning.
First Fuel Loading at the Palisades Plant Unit 1.
ENERGY.gov
Two engineers watch as the first fuel loading at the Consumer Power Company of Michigan's Palisades Plant Unit 1 takes place circa 1974.
First Fuel Loading at the Palisades Plant Unit 1.
ENERGY.gov
Two engineers watch as the first fuel loading at the Consumer Power Company of Michigan's Palisades Plant Unit 1 takes place circa 1974.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright awarded Holtec and the TVA $400 million apiece “to develop and construct the first Gen III+ small modular reactor (Gen III+ SMR) plants in the United States,” starting with PNP in Michigan and the Clinch River Nuclear Site in Tennessee on December 2nd, 2025. The DOE attributes this move to “President Trump [charging the] DOE with adding new, affordable and reliable energy to keep America energy secure.” The question is, at what cost? And to whom?
Rendering of SMRs at Clinch River Nuclear Plant
The Tennessee Valley Authority's rendering of potential SMRs at the Clinch River Nuclear Plant site.
Rendering of SMRs at Clinch River Nuclear Plant
The Tennessee Valley Authority's rendering of potential SMRs at the Clinch River Nuclear Plant site.
Holtec SMR-300 Concept Design
U.S. Department of Energy
A concept design of the small modular reactors that Holtec plans to build at the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert Township, Michigan
Holtec SMR-300 Concept Design
U.S. Department of Energy
A concept design of the small modular reactors that Holtec plans to build at the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert Township, Michigan
