It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Saturday, April 29, 2023
Deckhands Thwart Attempt to Steal Bremerton Fast Ferry
[Brief] Last weekend, a would-be thief who attempted to steal a Kitsap County ferry was thwarted by two brave mariners.
On Sunday morning, a suspect got into a secure mooring slip at Kitsap Transit's pier in Bremerton, Washington. He boarded an out-of-service fast ferry and cast off most of its lines, except for the stern line. The man broke into the pilothouse in what appeared to be an attempt to make off with the ferry.
The vessel began to drift away from the dock, and two deckhands spotted it moving without authorization. Setting aside risks to their personal safety, they boarded the vessel and regained control from the suspect. According to King 5 News, the man picked up a fire axe, but the two mariners continued about the business of bringing the boat back to the pier and tying it up.
Police responded to the scene shortly after, and the man disembarked the ferry and surrendered himself to their custody without further incident, according to Kitsap Transit.
A Bremerton Police spokesperson told KIRO 7 that the man had an unusual motive for the theft attempt: he believed that a revolution was coming and that he would need the ferry.
The suspect has been charged with burglary and related charges for attempting to steal the vessel, according to local media.
Norwegian Consortium Plans Arctic Floating Wind Farm in Barents Sea
One of the world's first offshore oil-associated wind projects could be built in the Arctic, and it could enter operation as early as 2026, according to its developers.
Wind systems contractor Odfjell Oceanwind, renewables developer Source Galileo and Eni subsidiary Vår Energi have formalized plans to build a floating offshore wind farm which will connect to Var's Goliat floating production platform, located off the coast of Hammerfest in the Barents Sea. The project consists of five 15 MW floating wind turbines (75 MW in total) tied to the subsea electrical cable that supplies Goliat with shore power.
Goliat needs about 50 MW to operate, and it already receives this electricity from renewable generating facilities on shore. Compared to a standard platform design without a shore power connection, this saves about 300,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year, according to Var Energi.
The oil company does not have any commercial or operational commitments to the GoliatVind project, but is partnering with Odfjell and Source Galileo to enable development. Thanks to Goliat's subsea power cable, the wind farm will increase overall available generating capacity for the broader Finnmark region.
"GoliatVind is exciting because Norwegian offshore wind technology can be demonstrated in a demanding area. Such projects are also crucial to achieve our commitments in the Paris Agreement before 2030," said Gunnar Birkeland, CEO of Source Galileo Norge.
The project will leverage Odfjell's Deepsea Star floating platform design, which the partners say is well-suited to the water depth of 1000-1200 feet at the site. The partners hope that the small wind farm could be up and running as early as 2026.
"The solutions to be demonstrated on GoliatVind are standardised and can be used in all locations in the North Atlantic suitable for floating offshore wind. This is therefore a very important project for us, and one that will enable a rapid spread and scaling of the technology both to other projects," said Simen Lieungh, chairman of Odfjell Oceanwind.
Current work on the project consists of a study to evaluate its compatibility with the Barents Sea's thriving fishing industry, as well as technical evaluation to ensure that it does not create any operational risks for Goliat.
Philippines Prepares for Offloading of Stranded Chinese Bulker
CHinese bulker will be offloaded to free if after grounding in the eastern Philippines (Philippine Coast Guard)
Ten days after a Chinese bulker first went aground in the eastern central region, the Philippines is preparing for the next phase of the salvage operation. The Philippine Coast Guard reported that it has given clearance for the salvage operation to begin after a survey confirmed that there has been no leakage or damage inside the vessel to this point.
The incident began on April 18 with reports of the bulker, Zhe Hai 168, grounding approximately 2.7 nautical miles off Eastern Samar province in the Philippine Sea. The 12-year old vessel is 57,000 dwt and was reported to be carrying a cargo of nickel ore loaded at Homonhon Island, Eastern Samar. The ship was sailing to Caofeidian, China where it was due to arrive on April 25.
A visual inspection was carried out on April 19 by the Coast Guard, Marine Environment Protection Unit, and the vessel’s local agent. The MEPU also conducted a surface assessment for possible traces of oil and reports the tests have been negative.
The vessel, which is 623 feet in length, however, remains firmly stuck and has been unable to refloat using the available resources. The PCG reports the decision has been made to begin offloading the vessel before further attempts will be made to pull it free from the reef.
A salvage team from Singapore was due to reach the bulker today and will be placing a barge alongside. They will then temporarily transfer the cargo to the barge to lighten the ship so it can be floated off the reef. The ship was 20 crewmembers aboard who are reported to be in good health waiting for the salvage operation.
The Coast Guard is requiring that the salvage team install oil spill booms before beginning its work. The Coast Guard continues to monitor the situation and reports that it began a marine casualty investigation on April 22.
Once the vessel has been refloated, the Philippine Coast Guard will require another hull assessment. Divers will also evaluate the condition of the coral to determine potential damage claims.
"Pain Points" for Female Seafarers ID’ed to Make Profession Inclusive
A new study released by the Global Maritime Forum and the All Aboard Alliance looks at the challenges faced by female seafarers as it looks toward improving living and working conditions for women at sea. The report is the first effort which will be followed by a second phase later this year that seeks to test proposed solutions to impact the key pain points identified for female seafarers.
The All Aboard Alliance, which was formed in 2021 and currently involves 36 companies, seeks to make the career at sea not just more inclusive but also attractive to more women as seafarers going forward. The efforts were launched in May 2022 when they brought together senior leaders from across the maritime industry as part of the effort to make the maritime world more diverse, equitable, and inclusive.
The qualitative study was based on 115 anonymous interviews with women seafarers from all ranks and geographies. They interviewed women ranging from captains to deckhands, with the majority (59 percent) with a rank of one stripe, with fewer women (17) being more senior officers, and a similar number (22) being able-bodied (no stripes) seafarers. They spoke with women on all types of ships and a total of 23 different nationalities. Approximately two-thirds of the women (63 percent) were from Asia (mainly the Philippines and India) while a quarter were from Europe.
The report breaks down the issues reported into four broad categories ranging from difficulties to succeed in the profession to employment challenges at sea, challenges of social relationships and interactions at sea, and the physical conditions onboard. They identified a total of 15 key pain points within the industry for female seafarers.
Male chauvinism continues to be prevalent in the industry where the organizers report only two percent of the total seafarer population is female. Respondents highlighted a feeling of being treated as “less competent,” being assigned different tasks based on gender and being denied access to training. Many of the women said they felt they needed to outperform male colleagues just to be perceived as competent. Some of the women reported that they are still finding companies that simply do not want to recruit women.
Onboard ships in addition to the ever-present fears of sexual abuse and harassment, women like their male counterparts reported power abuse by officers and people in supervisory positions. Women however also said they felt like they were being constantly judged and that it is an environment that breeds rumors and gossip. Women like men reported feelings is isolation and loneliness, although possibly made worse by the imbalance between the number of men versus women in the crew.
Finally, many ships remain poorly designed and outfitted for women. They spoke of a lack of changing rooms, bathrooms, laundry areas, and alike. Equipment they said is often designed for men with less access to appropriate and properly fitting PPE, boilersuits, fire suits, boot sizes, and alike.
“We need to make life at sea more inclusive to women seafarers,” said Su Yin Anand, Head of Shipping at South32 and Co-Chair of the All Aboard Alliance while announcing the report’s findings. “But now that we have a better understanding of what the pain points are, we can work together to address them. We do not want them to leave their careers at sea because we need them – and we need many more.”
While the report covers a broad spectrum of issues and focuses on how they are impacting female seafarers, the sponsors note that many of the points also impact male seafarers. While less talked about, they said men also experience issues such as bullying and harassment, feelings of isolation, and the pain of long contracts which keep them away from families.
“These issues must be addressed,” said Mikael Skov, Co-Chair of the All Aboard Alliance, and CEO of tanker operator Hafnia. “The maritime industry is changing rapidly, and more advanced skills are needed – ones which require us to holistically look at the full talent pipeline to identify the best candidates – for the maritime sector to thrive and grow.” He notes that Hafnia in 2022 launched its Maritime Culture Lab aboard four vessels with at least 50 percent women to learn about the nuances and impact of a more diverse crew.
The All Aboard Alliance report is the first coming out of the Diversity@Sea workstream, which also aims to explore how the maritime industry can collectively make a career at sea more diverse, inclusive, and attractive to a broader pool of talent. They note that the shipping industry has some of the lowest numbers of women in the workforce and that this is at a time when the industry is facing acute shortages of qualified seafarers.
In the next phase of the project, a select group of vessels with higher-than-average numbers of women officers and crew onboard will be used to test potential solutions based on the finding from the interviews. They will look at how these recommendations impact the pain points and hope to develop a model that can be used broadly across the industry to make the seafarer profession more attractive to women.
The full report, with excerpts from the interviews, is available online.
Friday, April 28, 2023
Vermont forms reconciliation panel after eugenics apology
By LISA RATHKE
yesterday
Don Stevens, chief of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk-Abenaki Nation, holds a stack of papers at his home in Shelburne, Vt., showing family members who were on the Eugenics Survey of Vermont in the early 1900s that led to institutionalizations and sterilizations. Vermont has formed a truth and reconciliation commission to create a public record of discrimination caused by state laws and policies against certain marginalized populations. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)
SHELBURNE, Vt. (AP) — Two years ago, the Vermont Legislature apologized to all Vermonters and their families who were harmed by state-sanctioned eugenics policies that started in the early 1900s and led to institutionalizations and sterilizations, targeting Native Americans, French Canadians and disabled and poor people.
Legislators also vowed to do more. Now the state has formed a truth and reconciliation commission with the task of creating a public record of discrimination against certain marginalized populations caused by state laws and policies, as well as making recommendations for repairing the damage and preventing it from happening again.
“An apology’s only words,” said state Rep. Tom Stevens, a Democrat. “You have to really follow it up with actions, and we said in the apology that we would.”
The three commissioners were appointed last month to three-year terms, with annual salaries of $80,000 each. Last year’s act to create the commission allocated $748,000 in state funds this fiscal year to the panel, which also will hire an executive director and other staff.
The panel will create commissions to examine discrimination caused or allowed by state laws and policies experienced by Native American or Indigenous people; people with physical, psychiatric or mental conditions or disabilities and their families; people of color; and people with French Canadian, French Indian or other mixed ethnic or racial heritage. At the commission’s discretion, discrimination against other populations and communities may be considered.
“It’s definitely a broader scope than normal truth and reconciliation commissions,” said commissioner Mia Schultz, president of the Rutland Area NAACP. “I think the theme is this intergenerational trauma proliferated through state policy and law.”
The other two commissioners are Melody Walker Mackin of the Elnu Abenaki Tribe, who is an artist and educator and serves on the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs, and Patrick Standen, a St. Michael’s College professor, author and disability rights advocate.
More than 50 truth commissions have been established worldwide with some focusing on a single event and others centered on a specific time period, according to Virginie Ladisch of the International Center for Transitional Justice, which helped Vermont with its effort.
Peru’s commission, for example, was tasked with investigating terrorist violence and the violation of human rights from May 1980 to November 2000. A commission in Kenya had a wider scope of investigating, analyzing and reporting on what happened between 1963 and 2008 regarding human rights violations, economic crimes, illegal acquisition of public land, marginalization of communities, ethnic violence and state repression, Ladisch said by email.
“The broad scope of the Vermont TRC’s mandate gives the commission a chance to explore the various forms of structural harm that are part of the state’s history and that continue into the present,” Ladisch said.
Don Stevens, chief of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation, said his family was one of the largest targeted by the Eugenics Survey of Vermont organized in 1925 by University of Vermont professor Henry Perkins.
Some Vermonters of mixed French Canadian and Native American heritage, as well as poor, rural, white people, were placed on a state-sanctioned list of “mental defectives” and degenerates and sent to state institutions.
Vermont authorized voluntary sterilizations in 1931, becoming one of more than two dozen states to do so. More than 250 people were sterilized in Vermont, with two-thirds of those women and many labeled as “mentally deficient,” according to the University of Vermont.
Steven’s grandmother, the last of his relatives to be on the survey, was listed as a “cripple.” She changed her name several times to try to escape recognition, he said.
“She was born as Lillian May, and she was married as Pauline, and she died as Delia in the ’90s,” Steven said. “She changed her name to avoid the surveys like so many others did, but they were very good at following people.”
Among the “defects” of others on the survey were wanderer, illiterate, feeble-minded, liar, deserted husband, town pauper, obstinate, alcoholic and bearer of stillborn twins.
Stevens, who worked on the state apology and one from UVM, said he supports the Vermont truth and reconciliation commission and making the experiences for kids and future generations better.
“I wanted people to know about the history,” Stevens said. “You can’t avoid something unless people know about it.”
Greece to allow pets into more than 120 archaeological sites
April 27, 2023 In this Wednesday, March 31, 2021, file photo, women wearing face masks walk with their dogs at Areopagus hill, in front of ancient Acropolis hill, as a rainbow is seen in the cloudy Athenian sky. Greece's culture ministry announced on Thursday, April 27, 2023, that pets will soon be allowed into more than 120 archaeological sites across the country, although not in some of the top tourist draws such as the Acropolis in Athens. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File)
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Pets will soon be allowed into more than 120 archaeological sites across Greece, the country’s Culture Ministry announced Thursday, although not in the Acropolis or some of the other top tourist draws.
The move, unanimously approved by the country’s powerful Central Archaeological Council, will relax current rules which only allow guide dogs for disabled visitors into archaeological sites. The ministry did not specify when the new regulations would be implemented.
The decision is “a first, but important, step toward harmonizing the framework of accessibility to monuments and archaeological sites with the standards of other European countries, where entry rules for pets already apply,” Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said in a ministry press release.
The council approved the entry of pets provided they are kept on a leash no more than one meter (3 feet) long, or carried by their owners in a pouch or a pet carrying case. Owners will also need to show their pet’s health certificate and carry the necessary accessories to pick up their animal’s droppings in order to be allowed entry, the ministry said. Larger dogs will have to be muzzled.
But some of the most popular archaeological sites, such as the Acropolis of Athens, Knossos in Crete, Ancient Olympia or Delphi, which tend to get very crowded, will still remain pet-free, as will ancient theaters, temples, graves and monuments with mosaic floors.
Cages will be installed at the entrances of more than 110 other archaeological sites, the ministry said, so owners can park their pets during their visit.
Tourism is one of Greece’s main industries, generating billions of euros in revenue each year.
For Arbor Day, plant a tree resilient to climate change
By JESSICA DAMIANO
April 25, 2023 This image provided by Bugwood.org shows a street lined with sugar maple trees (Acer saccharum), the state trees of West Virginia. (John Ruter/University of Georgia/Bugwood.org via AP)
Trees are long-term investments that often outlive the people who plant them. And with the world’s climate changing fast, we now need to consider whether the trees we plant today will be able to withstand the changing conditions in our gardens over the next 30, 50 or even 100 years.
“Things are changing faster than the lifespan of trees,” said Daniel Herms, an entomologist specializing in the resiliency of trees at the research branch of the Davey Tree Expert Co., a landscaping firm based in Kent, Ohio.
Even some iconic state trees are not considered resilient in their own states, Herms said. For example, California’s coastal redwoods “are very dependent on the moisture that comes from fog, and that fog is being reduced.”
Other state trees that are vulnerable to climate change in their state, although they could be resilient elsewhere, include, according to Herms:
• Colorado’s blue spruce • Idaho’s Western white pine • Maine’s Eastern white pine • Minnesota’s red pine • Nevada’s single-leaf pinon • New Hampshire’s white birch • New Mexico’s pinon pine • Oregon’s Douglas fir • Pennsylvania’s hemlock • South Dakota’s black hills spruce • Utah’s blue spruce • West Virginia’s sugar maple
If you are growing a tree that has been deemed vulnerable in your area, there’s no need to replace it, he said.
“In most cases, it can continue to grow in the residential landscape with a proactive healthcare program,” he said. That means making conditions as favorable as possible by providing proper irrigation, insect and disease protection and treatment, and a good nutrition program, all of which help trees tolerate stress better. A credentialed, certified arborist can help.
When selecting new trees, gardeners and landscapers should choose species that are well-adapted not only to the current environment but that can adapt to the new one they’ll experience in their lifetime, Herms said.
In addition to producing oxygen, trees provide shade and natural cooling during the summer, especially in cities. “They also reduce stormwater runoff and sequester and store carbon, so they can contribute to climate goals as we get closer to net zero,” Herms said, using a term defined by the U.N. as the goal of “cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible, with any remaining emissions re-absorbed from the atmosphere, by oceans and forests.”
Arbor Day, which falls nationally this Friday (April 28) in the U.S., is the annual observance of the importance of planting trees. The date varies in some states and countries based upon the ideal tree-planting date there.
If you’re planning to plant a tree this spring, Herms suggests selecting a species that currently thrives in your horticultural zone (see https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/ ) as well as two zones warmer. For example, a homeowner in Zone 6 should seek out trees that are well-suited for Zones 6-8.
Your local cooperative extension office and some large arboretums with research divisions in your state may be able to offer further guidance on tree selection, as many are compiling data and formulating recommendations.
To reduce stress and help ensure your new tree thrives, dig a hole exactly as deep and twice as wide as the tree’s root ball. Incorporate a generous helping of compost into the backfill. Keep it well watered, especially during the first three years as it becomes established. Trees generally require 1 inch of water per week, either from rainfall, supplemental irrigation or a combination, Herms said.
As the old saying goes, “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is today.”
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Jessica Damiano writes regular gardening columns for The Associated Press. She publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. Sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.
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Pandemic sent high school sex to new low, survey finds
By MIKE STOBBE
April 27, 2023 - People are silhouetted against the sky as the sun sets Wednesday, May 11, 2022, in Kansas City, Mo. According to a report released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday, April 27, 2023, the first years of the pandemic saw a huge decline in high school students having sex. Teen sex was already becoming less and less common before COVID-19. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — The first years of the pandemic saw a huge decline in high school students having sex, according to a government survey.
Teen sex was already becoming less and less common before COVID-19.
About three decades ago, more than half of teens said they’d had sex, according to a large government survey conducted every two years. By 2019, the share was 38%. In 2021, 30% of teens said they had ever had sex. That was the sharpest drop ever recorded by the survey.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday released reports analyzing the latest findings from the survey that looks into risky youth behaviors, including smoking, drinking, having sex and carrying guns.
More than 17,000 students at 152 public and private high schools responded to the 2021 survey. Participation was voluntary and required parental permission, but responses were anonymous.
The CDC also noted declines in students who said they were currently having sex or who’d had at least four sex partners.
The declines clearly had a lot to do with the pandemic that kept kids isolated at home for long stretches and, often, under extended adult supervision, experts said.
Health officials generally like to see trends that result in fewer teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, but the decline in teen sex coincided with increased reports of social isolation and poor mental health.
“I think these together paint a picture of high school students building fewer strong interpersonal connections that can be protective of good mental health,” said Laura Lindberg, a Rutgers University researcher who studies adolescent sexual behavior.
“This is an opportunity to say maybe teens are having too little sex,” said Lindberg, who was not involved in the reports.
The CDC’s Kathleen Ethier said the decline may be a good thing if it reflects more young people making healthy decisions to delay sex and reduce their number of partners.
“But what concerns me is this is potentially a reflection of social isolation,” said Ethier, director of the CDC’s division of adolescent and school health.
The 2023 survey, which will show if the decline was temporary, is currently underway.
Another finding: The proportion of high school kids who identify as heterosexual dropped to about 75%, down from about 89% as recently as 2015. Meanwhile, the share who identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual rose to 15%, up from 8% in 2015, when the survey began asking about sexual orientation.
There were also increases in the proportion who said “other” or that they were questioning or uncertain, the CDC found. The changes may be at least partly related to social changes that have reduced the stigma about identifying as not heterosexual, Lindberg said.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Robots run the show as Swiss radio tests AI voices for a day
By JAMEY KEATEN
April 27, 2023
GENEVA (AP) — The voices sound like well-known personalities, the music features trendy dance beats and hip-hop syncopations, and the jokes and laughter are contagious. But listeners of an offbeat Swiss public radio station repeatedly got the message on Thursday: Today’s programming is brought to you by Artificial Intelligence.
Three months in the making, the French-language station Couleur 3 (Color 3) is touting a one-day experiment using cloned voices of five real, human presenters — in what managers claim is a world first — and never-aired-before music composed almost entirely by computers, not people. From 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., the station said, AI controlled its airwaves. Every 20 minutes, listeners got a reminder.
With an eerie, Sci-Fi movie-like track whirring in the background, a soothing, raspy female voice said: “AI is taking your favorite radio by storm.”
“For 13 hours, our digital alter egos have taken the reins, broadcasting their voices and their messages across the airwaves, without mercy or respite,” the voice said, at times almost taunting listeners. “The boundaries between human and machine have been blurred, and it’s up to you to unravel what’s real and what’s fake.”
“Our voice clones and AI are here to unsettle, surprise and shake you. And for that matter, this text was also written by a robot.”
The explosive emergence of ChatGPT last autumn and other “Generative AI” tools have caused a stir — and often fear, confusion, fascination, laughter, or worry — about the long-term economic, cultural, social and even political consequences. Some musicians have complained that AI has ripped off their styles.
In the face of such recalcitrance, the Swiss station, which falls under the umbrella of public broadcaster Radio Television Switzerland, notes the concerns about AI — and embraces and seeks to de-mystify it.
Antoine Multone, the station’s chief, said Couleur 3 could get away with the experiment because it’s already known as “provocative.”
While some might fear the project could be a first step toward the obsolescence of people on the air — and firings of personnel too — or could weaken journalism, he defended the project as a lesson on how to live with AI.
“I think if we become ostriches ... we put our heads in the sand and say, ‘Mon Dieu, there’s a new technology! We’re all going to die!’ then yeah, we’re going to die because it (AI) is coming, whether we like it or not,” Multone said by phone. “We want to master the technology so we can then put limits on it.”
Some have gone even further, like Seven Hills, Ohio-based media company Futuri, which has rolled out RadioGPT that relies on AI.
At Couleur 3, the voices of the presenters were cloned with the help of software company Respeecher, which has worked with Hollywood studios and whose website says its team is mostly based in Ukraine.
Station managers say it took three months to train the AI to understand the needs of the station and adopt its quirky, offbeat vibe. The tracks aired during the day were at least partially composed by AI and some were entirely, “and that’s also a first,” Multone said. AI was behind the voices that sang songs broadcast in the morning, and it played DJ in the afternoon — selecting copyrighted music.
To avoid any possible confusion with today’s real news, the synthetic voices — indistinguishable from a real person’s — served up top-of-the-hour news flashes that were way too futuristic to be believable: A temporary ban on spaceship flights over Geneva airspace due to noise complaints; the opening of the first underwater restaurant in Lake Zurich; extraterrestrial tourists who mistook swans on Swiss lake for inflatable toys.
The AI had been instructed to come up with news that might be read in the year 2070.
Multone acknowledged a lot of discussion among staffers about whether to go through with it, and “I was ready to pull the plug on the project if I had seen that my team wasn’t 100% motivated to try it.”
Hundreds of messages poured into the station in the morning shortly after the programming began, Swiss public radio said in a statement. One complained of boring jokes. Another listener, stupefied, admitted to being stumped. One critic called the project a waste of time for a station that gets public funding.
“The main feedback we get, in 90% of the messages, is: ‘It’s cool, but there’s a human element missing. You can sense these are robots, and there are fewer surprises, less personality,’” Multone said, noting an on-air discussion of the experiment was planned Friday — by real people.
“Many messages just said: ‘Give us back our humans!’” he said. “I think that’s great.”
Company seeks first-time restart of shuttered nuclear plant
By JOHN FLESHER
April 26, 2023 Palisades Nuclear Generating Station in Covert, Mich. Holtec Decommissioning International, a company that tears down closed nuclear power plants wants to do in Michigan what has never been done in the U.S.: restore a dead one to life. Activists who long criticized Palisades as poorly maintained and dangerous don't want it resurrected. (John Madill/The Herald-Palladium via AP, File)
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A company that tears down closed nuclear power plants wants to do in Michigan what has never been done in the U.S.: restore a dead one to life.
Holtec Decommissioning International bought the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station last June for the stated purpose of dismantling it, weeks after previous owner Entergy shut it down. Fuel was removed from the reactor core. Federal regulators were notified of “permanent cessation of power operations.”
But with support from Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and leaders in the Lake Michigan community where Palisades was an economic driver for 50 years, Holtec soon kicked off a campaign to bring the plant back. The 800 megawatt facility had generated roughly 5% of the state’s electricity.
“Keeping Palisades open is critical for Michigan’s competitiveness and future economic development opportunities,” Whitmer said in a letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, herself a former Michigan governor, requesting federal funding for the restart.
Activists who long criticized Palisades as poorly maintained and dangerous don’t want it resurrected.
They note its years of mechanical problems, including what the Nuclear Regulatory Commission described as among the nation’s worst cases of nuclear fuel container weakening. A degrading seal on a device controlling the atomic reaction led Entergy to close the plant nearly two weeks earlier than planned in May 2022.
“This is uncharted risk territory,” said Kevin Kamps, radioactive waste specialist for a group called Beyond Nuclear, who vowed to “fight this proposal at every turn” after Holtec pitched it during a March 20 NRC meeting.
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Holtec says a primary reason for its about-face on Palisades was a $6 billion federal initiative to prolong older nuclear facilities, part of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure law.
Nuclear is key to his goal of an economy with net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Fission generates no carbon dioxide, the primary global warming gas, although fossil fuels can be used in mining and refining uranium ore for reactors. Its waste remains lethally radioactive for thousands of years.
“Nuclear reactors support energy independence by ensuring the reliable availability of clean, resilient and affordable power,” the Energy Department said in March, announcing a second funding application period for aging plants.
The department awarded up to $1.1 billion last fall to spare the Diablo Canyon plant in California, scheduled for decommissioning in 2024 and 2025.
Palisades was turned down. But the department emphasized that recently shuttered plants would be eligible in the next round. Instead, Holtec is applying for about $1 billion in federal loans under a different program that’s “a better fit,” spokesman Patrick O’Brien said.
The company also wants $300 million from the state, said state Rep. Joey Andrews, a Democrat whose district includes the plant.
Holtec Decommissioning President Kelly Trice told the NRC that government assistance was vital, along with regulatory exemptions and finding a utility to buy the power. He didn’t disclose the expected Palisades restart cost.
Resurrecting the plant would be “a massive challenge,” said Jacopo Buongiorno, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology nuclear engineering professor.
In addition to hiring and training hundreds of operators and engineers, the company would have to check thousands of parts — making repairs or replacements as needed — and order more uranium fuel.
Palisades’ license now prohibits reactor operation, so Holtec would need a revision or rule exemptions for a restart. The NRC would agree only if convinced the plant “has been brought back to working order,” Buongiorno said.
No significant steps have been taken toward dismantling the plant, company Vice President Jean Fleming said during the March meeting. Some 380 employees departed after closure while about 220 remain, handling site and security upgrades and preparing to transfer spent fuel from a cooling pool to dry cask storage.
Holtec hopes to get funding and NRC approval by October. Even then, the restart probably would take a couple of years, Trice said.
Commission regulators told Holtec officials their plan appeared to cover necessary topics but were noncommittal about approval.
“They would have to put applications before technical staff, provide evidence to show that what they’re requesting is in accordance with the law and meets our basic requirements for maintaining public health and safety,” said NRC spokesperson Scott Burnell.
If successful, Palisades would become the first U.S. nuclear reactor to restart after its fuel has been removed and its license revised to prohibit further operation, Burnell said.
“Every other U.S. reactor that’s submitted documentation that says, in effect, ‘We have permanently defueled the reactor and are done operating it,’ ... has moved onto decommissioning.”
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Skeptics question Palisades’ fitness — and Holtec’s financial strategy.
“The plant when it was operating had serious safety issues,” said Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety with the Union of Concerned Scientists. “Now it’s been shut down, normal inspection and maintenance procedures have stopped; NRC oversight has stopped.”
Before committing to a restart, Holtec would be confident about getting the plant in good shape, spokesperson O’Brien said. “It would be safe nuclear power, the most heavily regulated industry in the world.”
If the company abandons the plan or is rejected by the NRC, it would revert to dismantling Palisades and restoring the 432-acre (175-hectare) lakeshore site.
Holtec estimated decommissioning costs at $633 million in December, when a trust fund to pay for it totaled $547 million. To close the funding gap, the project would be spread over nearly two decades, with a 10-year slowdown so investment earnings could outpace spending.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel argues the fund is inadequate and Holtec and Entergy are understating decommissioning costs. That could leave taxpayers on the hook, she said in seeking an NRC order that the companies provide an additional $200 million.
The companies said the fund had “a sufficient cushion” and they could get more money if needed.
The NRC hasn’t ruled on the issue.
Beyond Nuclear accuses Holtec of improperly dipping into the decommissioning fund — generated through assessments on ratepayers — to bankroll the proposed restart.
Company president Trice told the NRC the fund was “what we’re using to pay the salaries right now,” according to a recording provided by the anti-nuclear nonprofit.
Kamps of Beyond Nuclear said the remark acknowledged the fund was being used for work unrelated to decommissioning. His group asked the NRC’s inspector general to investigate.
Justin Poole, an NRC project manager who led the meeting, said Trice’s comment referred to payment of on-site decommissioning workers. Holtec spokesman O’Brien said roughly $44 million had been withdrawn from the fund — only for decommissioning activities. The parent company is covering restart costs, he said.
“Reasonable people can disagree” about the meaning of Trice’s comment, said Burnell, the NRC spokesperson.
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Many southwestern Michigan government and business leaders want Palisades restarted.
“A very reliable and steady tax base for our community,” Zack Morris, head of a business development organization, told the NRC.
Andrews, the legislator who supports state funding, said he previously worked in renewable energy and prefers wind and solar. Yet a reliable supplier is needed for when wind doesn’t blow or sun doesn’t shine, he said, and nuclear beats carbon-spewing coal and natural gas.
But the potential comeback is a nightmare for those who opposed the plant and were relieved it shut down.
“If there’s an accident at Palisades, it could make it so we can’t live here any more,” said Kraig Schultz, whose home is 50 miles (81 kilometers) away but close to Lake Michigan, where he swims and his son surfs. “We’re playing a losing game when we keep running something until it fails.”
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