Nuclear Power

Illinois lawmakers filed more than 7,500 bills this spring session, and 615 of them crossed the finish line. While most bills failed to escape legislative committees, there were some that got close to becoming reality.

A supplemental environmental impact statement filed this spring by Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will likely advance the operating license renewal request filed by Constellation Energy, owner of the Clinton nuclear power plant.

Facebook parent Meta said Tuesday that it's signed a 20-year agreement to buy about 1.1 gigawatts of electricity from the Clinton nuclear power plant, starting in 2027, to support its "AI ambitions." The deal saves the closest nuclear plant to Bloomington-Normal from a possible closure.

Illinois’ energy demand will outmatch its supply by 2030, according to a Power Bureau study. That's why some lawmakers are trying to end a 40-year moratorium on the construction of large-scale nuclear reactors.

Since the 1970s, physicists have worked on developing nuclear fusion as a clean, carbon-free, inexhaustible fuel source. Essentially building a big star on Earth, the United States and other nuclear powers have also used the technology to make nuclear weapons exponentially more powerful. Princeton physicist Stewart Prager joins the podcast to talk about the intersection between nuclear fusion, energy production and arms control.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will review the proposal from Constellation Energy to allow the plant to operate another 20 years, through 2047.

Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday signed into law a measure that will allow for the limited development of new nuclear power generation technology in the state.

No movement on efforts to extend scholarship tax credit, allow legislative staff to unionize.

The Clinton Power Station in DeWitt County south of Bloomington-Normal started operating in 1987. The nuclear plant is supposed to shut down in 2026, but owner Constellation Energy has applied for a 20-year license extension.

The veto of a law to end a moratorium on new nuclear power plant construction in Illinois sets up a battle in the fall veto session. In his veto message, Gov. JB Pritzker appears to be saying the bill isn't ready for prime time.