2026-10-27 (~10:18 AM ET, WNN — world-nuclear-news.org/articles): South Korea's Nuclear Safety and Security Commission approved Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power to continue operating Kori units 3 and 4 for a further 10 years, with the units set for restarts in 2027. Development: the restart cohort gains its first South Korean units, beside Palisades/Crane (US), Maanshan (Taiwan), and Pickering (Ontario). No within-year restart dates, fuel-loading steps, or conditions in coverage. Watch: the 2027 restart dates and intervening licensing steps.
2026-10-26 (~12:25 PM ET, WNN — world-nuclear-news.org/articles): Holtec completed the retrieval of the tilted fuel assembly from the Palisades reactor vessel, using a purpose-built machine conceived, engineered, manufactured and delivered in two weeks. Development: resolves the Oct 16 entry's "the removal itself" watch item. Still open: the fuel-loading resumption date and the Sep 25 cause taxonomy. Watch: loading resumption and the restart date.
2026-10-16 (~1:43 PM ET): NRC approved Holtec's emergency request to remove the tilted fuel assembly from the Palisades reactor vessel using custom-made equipment (ANS — ans.org/news), roughly two weeks after Holtec's license amendment request on the Sep 25 fuel-assembly incident. Resolves the Oct 9 entry's "LAR review outcome" watch item; loading resumption date still not in the reporting. Watch: the removal itself, the loading-resumption date, and the Sep 25 cause-taxonomy watch.
2026-10-15 (safety-culture layer): NRC found a "chilled work environment" at Palisades — supply chain and QA employees may be hesitant to raise safety concerns for fear of retaliation (report published Tuesday Oct 13, 2026; ANS ~11:15 AM ET Oct 15 — ans.org/news), stemming from a July 2026 inspection of the Covert, MI plant attempting the first US restart. Development: beside the paused loading and the LAR review (Oct 9), the restart's gate now includes an employee-concerns finding. Watch: Holtec's corrective response, any impact on loading resumption and restart timing.
2026-10-09 the incident's licensing layer — NRC is reviewing
Holtec's license amendment request on the fuel-loading incident
(ANS); some restart work stays paused meanwhile; and the
Pioneer-SMR application advances in the same ANS item (the
SMR queue's newest entrant). Watch: the LAR review outcome, the
loading resumption date, whether the pause's cause taxonomy
(recorded Sep 25) ever resolves publicly.
2026-10-02/03 (the campus strategy proceeds on both tracks): Holtec
filed the PSAR for two SMR-300s at Palisades Energy Center —
phase 2 of the CP application complete (WNN, ~10:38 AM ET Oct 2) —
licensing advancing on the SMR build while the restart parent waits
on the fuel-loading incident.
September 2026 · 1 update
2026-09-28 Crane Clean Energy Center (ex-TMI-1, Constellation,
Microsoft-anchored) restart cleared EA/FONSI (NRC+DOE EDF office).
Taiwan completed the Maanshan restart review; 2026-09-14: Chubu
withdrew Hamaoka restart applications (contrary tide). Ontario:
Pickering refurb under way, >CAD3B (~$2.1B) contracts (Sep 23–24).
August 2026 · 1 update
2026-08-30 Palisades (MI) began fuel loading in Mode 6 (204
assemblies). 2026-09-25: loading paused by a fuel-assembly incident
(no resumption date captured; plant also grid-connected at the
switchyard). Same window: NRC exemption lets Holtec do early site work
for two SMR-class units at Palisades; Holtec IPO postponed (AI-sector
jitters — ledgered).
Background
The thread: the first US restart cohort moving through licensing and
hardware — with its first operational incident.
Watch for: Palisades resumption + the incident's cause taxonomy;
Crane loading/restart date; whether the Palisades pause spooks the
restart cohort's financing.