Federal regulators have allowed the owners of the dormant plant to bring nuclear fuel back into the facility, a key step toward its reopening.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved a series of requests from Holtec International that lay the groundwork to restart the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan, the agency and company said on Thursday.

The Palisades Nuclear Power Plant is on track to be the first U.S. commercial nuclear power plant to restart operations.