Geese “gandering” Perrigo expansion- Two Canadian geese, the mascot of Allegan County, swim towards Perrigo Company’s new distribution center on Interchange Drive in the Allegan County portion of Holland. 

Allegan County Storey

March 31, 2024 - Volume 4 Number 13

Palisades nets $1.5 billion fed loan

A crowd of hundreds gathered last Wednesday in Covert to hear U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, a former Michigan governor, announce her approval of a $1.5 billion conditional loan for the refurbishment of the Palisades nuclear-powered electric generating station. The loan is offered to Holtec International, the owner of the shuttered plant. A gathering of local and state leaders, along with electric distribution companies, Holtec employees, and labor union representatives gather in mid-morning to hear the well-planned and much-anticipated announcement in one of the industrial buildings on the Palisades site. The Energy Secretary said the loan, together with $150 million pledged by the State of Michigan government, will generate 1,000 construction jobs and 600 jobs at Holtec for plant operations. Palisades ceased operations in mid-2022 when Holtec purchased the facility from former owner Entergy. At the time, the transaction was to allow Holtec to decommission the plant. The company quickly changed gears and developed a plan for re-starting the plant in the midst of an electric generation shortage. Once completed, Palisades will be the first closed nuclear plant to be re-opened. It has a capacity to generate 800 megawatts of electricity daily, which Wolverine Electric Cooperative President Eric Baker told me will all be sent to Michigan consumers. Wolverine and Hoosier Energy have agreements with Holtec to purchase the electricity Palisades generates.

(L-R) Kelly Trice, Holtec President of Generation and Decommissioning; Mike Chappel, Van Buren County Commissioner; Jim Storey; Eric Baker, President & CEO Wolverine Power Cooperative; Donna Walker, President & CEO Hooiser Energy; Gerry Bundle, Chair of Board Wolverine Power.

I-196/Allegan: prosperity alley?

Lakeshore Advantage, the county’s economic development contractor, presented a rosy report to the Board of Commissioners on business investments in the county last year. Among them is a $13 million, 357,000 sq. ft. Perrigo distribution center on Interchange Drive in the Allegan portion of Holland. Interchange Drive on I-196’s southside and 64th Street on the north side, parallel the freeway in the vicinity of the key M-40/I-196 interchange. Both roadways are seeing steady additional investments. Mandy Cooper, Lakeshore’s strategic vice president, presented the agency’s annual report. In it she highlighted the five successful projects they steered in 2023 that resulted in $3.1 billion worth of investments in the county, producing 399 new or retained jobs. In the economic development pipeline, Cooper reported 10 projects underway worth $1.1 billion in potential investment with 511 jobs created or retained. Cooper drew attention to the agency’s new headquarters building under construction with primary focus on its Surge entrepreneurial center to be located on the ground floor. In its current location, the agency’s Surge center is working with 70 start-up firms. Looking to the future, the agency will be focusing on food processing and agribusiness, smart manufacturing, and advanced energy storage firms. 

Calkins Street hydroelectric dam 

Consumers Energy and the Lake Allegan Association jointly presented a proposal for county participation in the Community Prosperity Group the two entities are forming. The group will help the utility gather opinions on the future of the Calkins Dam and help guide the company’s decisions on the generating facility’s future. The board named Commissioner Scott Beltman and Dan Wedge, one of the administrator’s staff members, to participate with the group as they delve into the impact the Calkins hydro has on the local economy, residents, and the state’s energy reliability. The group will also draw-in other interested parties such as Allegan County Prosecuting Attorney Myrene Koch, the Public Service Commission, state and federal legislators and township officials from Valley and Allegan townships. The group is expected to meet quarterly.

Spongy Moth workshop

The Allegan Conservation District is hosting a seminar aimed at helping residents control the spread of the spongy moth. The workshop will be held on Saturday, April 13. Details follow. Note: advance registration is required to ensure adequate space and materials. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSchYEeQdpme9jgRl1wlGUHSB3PRatwZ8yshIh2bNMIX_Xz6Hg/viewform

Allegan County Commissioner Jim Storey allegancountystorey@gmail.com 616-848-9767