SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — A 2023 law will allow Illinois to start building small nuclear reactors next year, but some lawmakers argue the state should lift the 1987 moratorium on large nuclear reactors as well.
Democrats and Republicans believe new technology for nuclear reactors can address the demand for energy with downstate coal and gas plants shutting down. Illinois will lift the nuclear moratorium on January 1, but some argue the state should be able to build both small and large nuclear reactors.
“The MISO and PJM grids are under severe power pressures,” Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) said Friday. “Numerous grid study reports have sounded the alarm that the US is and will be short of power in the 2030s.”
Rezin told colleagues on the Senate Energy & Public Utilities Committee that there is a workforce that is ready and able to build out the nuclear fleet.
The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association said lifting limits on nuclear facilities could bolster the supply of clean energy needed to grow jobs and increase investment. IMA President and CEO Mark Denzler explained nuclear power could help Illinois lead in quantum computing and artificial intelligence.
“If Illinois wants to lead the Midwest and nation in economic development, capital investment, and job growth while also meeting our carbon reduction goals, we need continued investment in nuclear power,” Denzler said. “It’s a clean, safe, and reliable source of energy.”
Industry leaders said it could take eight to 10 years for Illinois to build more nuclear facilities. Although, sponsors believe this expansion could help downstate communities that saw their economy once boom with coal plants.
Clean energy leaders argue the state government is not prepared to regulate new nuclear power plants. The Illinois Environmental Council said there were over 40 people participating in the nuclear power plant oversight process in the 1970s. Yet, there are no state employees fulfilling that role now.
“We have not had an entity in Illinois, we don’t have workers in Illinois, that have overseen, regulated, or determined what plants are built when and where,” said IEC Executive Director Jennifer Walling.
Walling and other opponents of the legislation argue Illinois needs to invest in transmission, storage, and energy efficiency while protecting customers from fossil fuel prices.
Senate Bill 1527 had 27 co-sponsors as of May 5. Rezin hopes to move the legislation before the chamber’s committee and third reading deadline of May 9.
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