This piece originally appeared in Daily Herald.
On Tuesday, March 18, a bill advanced out of committee in Springfield that would fully repeal the ban on construction of new nuclear plants in Illinois. It passed on a unanimous vote, 20-0, signaling significant support for the state’s largest source of electricity.
The timing couldn't be better. Power demand is surging due to the electrification of heating and vehicles as well as the AI-boom. Nationally, we can expect peak demand to grow by 151 gigawatts over the next 10 years. Illinois would play a unique role in meeting this demand because of its robust power portfolio — except that the state’s current energy policy has jeopardized this advantage.
Thanks to the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, Illinois is closing 10.6 gigawatts of power capacity by 2030 due to politically-demanded coal plant closures. Without replacement generation, we face higher power prices and a less reliable electricity system. Even worse, shutting down coal in-state doesn’t mean it goes away — more likely, we’ll become reliant on our neighbors’ fossil fuel plants for pricey power imports.
