Journey's End

Consumers Energy has kept its promise to safely restore the Big Rock Point nuclear plant site to a greenfield -- free for unrestricted use by new generations of Michigan residents. Michigan's pioneer nuclear plant retired gracefully from the landscape after 35 years of safely and reliably providing electric power.

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Big Rock Point Restoration Project
Greenfield Celebration
Back to Nature
Big Rock Point Landmark
Operational Excellence
Decommissioning Pioneer
Always Working Safely

Big Rock Point Restoration Project

The Big Rock Point nuclear plant safely and reliably provided electric power to the homes and businesses of northern Michigan for 35 years before shutting down amid a "Success Celebration" in 1997 as the nation's longest and oldest operating nuclear plant.

In September 1997, the site added "Restoration Project" to its name and began the journey to restore the site to a greenfield -- free for unrestricted use.

With the complete removal of the nuclear plant and the restoration of the 475-acre site to a natural state, the familiar name Big Rock Point will once again refer simply to a beautiful stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline.

By the end of 2006, the only visible evidence of the nuclear plant's presence will be the dry fuel storage facility, the stone breakwall along the lakefront and part of the road that once led to the plant. When the used fuel is eventually shipped to a federal repository in Yucca Mountain, Nev., the last remnant of the plant's energy-producing career will be removed.

While the buildings will be gone, fond memories of the people and times at "the Rock" will linger among the site's shady cedars and protected Pitcher's Thistle and Lake Huron Tansy.

Said Tracy Goble, environmental services superintendent: "We're going beyond state and federal requirements to return the land to a condition that coexists with the beauty of northern Michigan."

Greenfield Celebration

At 14 months, little Jaiden Reed likely won't remember attending the Aug. 29, 2006, celebration at Big Rock Point that signaled the successful return of the former nuclear plant to a greenfield.

But like hundreds of other former workers, family, friends and neighbors in the crowd, she will be linked forever to the spirit of the site in Charlevoix, Mich. - and its incredible circle of life.

"I feel comfortable putting my child in the center where the reactor building stood and letting her play with the soil," said Jodie Reed, who developed final site survey designs and spent all nine years on the restoration effort. "That's how confident I am in our methods and techniques."

From the plant's permanent shutdown in August 1997, Reed has worked in a variety of departments that included instrumentation calibration, radiation protection and environmental services.

"When I came up here, I was single and met my future husband at church," said Reed, noting that she worked until the day before Jaiden was born. "The people I worked with here became my family.

"After Jaiden was born, I went from writing specs for personal protection to obtaining soil samples for testing. To see the whole project come to fruition is amazing. It's truly a wonderful feeling knowing with 100 percent confidence that we're leaving behind something that would not harm a child."

Besides marking the return to a greenfield, the celebration also recognized the completion of the decommissioning project, the 44th anniversary of the operating license and the ninth anniversary of the plant shutdown.

Back to Nature

During the celebration, Odawa Tribal chairman Frank Ettawageshik paid homage to the site in a song that honored Mother Earth and God. His ancestors had used the big rock on the nearby Lake Michigan shore as a navigational aid and meeting place for hundreds of years.

He said the plant, built in 1960, had completed its circle of life.

"The big rock was a landmark for our people," he said. "Although this is an ending, this is also a beginning. This was a place of service for jobs and energy.

"Today is a transition. This is a time when this land will remain in service as a group of us is working to retain this land in a way that will be useful for future generations."

Big Rock Point Landmark

Working at Big Rock Point was more than a job. People established a sense of community, family, tradition and pride that most had rarely, if ever, experienced before.

That pride is reflected in the groundswell of support to establish a permanent landmark recognizing the plant and its workers. The effort is being funded by donations from more than 200 individuals and corporations.

The memorial is being created by Xibitz, a Michigan company that helped design part of the world-renowned Frederick Meijer Gardens. The dedication of the landmark is planned for 2007.

Operational Excellence

Big Rock Point workers were pioneers in developing commercial nuclear power when the world's first high-power density boiling water reactor began generating electricity in northern Michigan in 1962.

The plant began operation as a research and development facility with a goal to demonstrate that nuclear plants could economically generate electricity. Other research focused on increasing fuel life and reducing fuel fabrication costs.

Hundreds of skilled and dedicated men and women continued that initial spirit of innovation and achievement.

Over the years, the 67-megawatt plant established safety and performance records that put Big Rock Point among the leaders in the industry and provided safe, reliable electric generation for 35 years.

Big Rock Point was Michigan's first and the nation's fifth commercial nuclear plant. During its lifetime, more than 100 other reactors went into service in the United States.

Here are some Big Rock Point highlights:

1.  For 11 years, the reactor was used to produce cobalt 60 to treat cancer patients. It was estimated that the cobalt 60 helped    save more than 120,000 lives.

2.  In 1977, Big Rock Point set a world record for boiling water reactors by operating for 343 consecutive days.

3.  In 1991, the American Nuclear Society named Big Rock Point a Nuclear Historic Landmark.

4.  From 1977 to 2000, Big Rock Point employees worked more than 23 years without missing a day of work due to injury.


Big Rock Point continued to operate well and set records as it approached the end of its operating life. In 1995, the plant set a site yearly generation record by producing 516,209 megawatt-hours.

Only a soon-to-expire operating license and the economics of a new competitive era of electric generation stilled Big Rock's reactor for good.

The plant shut down amid a large "Success Celebration" of about 1,000 attendees on Aug. 29, 1997, with the memorable words from plant nuclear control operator Andy Loe: "Goodbye, Big Rock. Sorry to see you go."

Decommissioning Pioneer

In September 1997, after 35 years of safe and successful operation, the management and employees of Big Rock Point faced a new challenge: restoring the site to a Greenfield - free for unrestricted use.

The site added "Restoration Project" to its name, and the journey officially began Sept. 20 when the last fuel bundle was removed from the reactor.

The next nine years would include the challenges of restoring all areas used during plant activities and painstakingly dismantling and removing all plant equipment, structures, piping, concrete and steel. Each stage required meticulous planning and scrupulous attention to detail.

What had taken a little more than two years to build was safely disassembled, piece-by-piece -- creating a natural retreat for generations to enjoy.

During this time, the site also hosted the American Nuclear Society Executive Conference in 1999, an Electric Power Research Institute workshop and welcomed industry representatives from Washington and many countries around the world that wanted to learn more about this significant restoration process.

Always Working Safely

Safety was always first at Big Rock Point because the well-being of people came before any other consideration.

From prejob briefs and sitewide safety events to installing a new and award-winning decommissioning power system, it was clear to anyone who worked or visited the site that safety was the highest priority.

During Big Rock Point's long operational life through to decommissioning, employees enjoyed an impressive 23-year run without a lost-time accident.

Making the transition from operating to decommissioning a nuclear plant required adjustment as the work changed and the flurry of activity brought many new faces to the site.

All workers - whether company employees or contractors - received a green hard hat with the site logo to help foster a sense of team, family and site pride.