WASHINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. disbursed

nearly $156 million in the latest installment of a loan

guarantee for Holtec International's Michigan nuclear power

plant, which the company hopes will be the first U.S. reactor to

restart after shuttering, a source with knowledge of the matter

said on Tuesday.

With the sixth installment by the Loan Programs Office of

the Department of Energy, it has now disbursed about $491

million of the up to $1.52 billion loan guarantee that was

approved during former President Joe Biden's term.

Power company Entergy ( ETR ) closed Palisades in 2022,

after it operated for more than 50 years. It shut two weeks

ahead of schedule over a glitch with a control rod, despite a $6

billion federal program to save reactors suffering from rising

costs.

U.S. President Donald Trump supports nuclear power as U.S.

power demand rises for the first time in two decades due to

demand from data centers and artificial intelligence.

Holtec plans to restart Palisades in the fourth quarter of

the year.

Trump signed executive orders in May to fast-track new nuclear

power licenses, and overhaul the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

which issues them. The NRC last month approved Holtec's request

to load fuel into the reactor in July.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )