Illinois: urgent acceleration of the construction of 2 GW of new capacity.

Governor of the state of Illinois, J. B. Pritzker, issued an executive order mandating the urgent acceleration of the development of new nuclear facilities. The goal is clear: the delivery of at least two gigawatts of new clean nuclear energy, which is enough to power two million homes

Illinois already gets more than half of its power from 11 existing reactors, but since 1987 there has been a moratorium on new construction. Governor Pritzker's executive order comes after the state's parliament officially ended this thirty-year delay. The order aims to accelerate the process of developing and launching new baseload energy capacity. 

The governor ordered state agencies to, within 60 days, initiate formal inquiries (NOI) to potential partners, as well as to local communities that are interested in hosting the new reactors. The aim is to finalize recommendations for the start of construction so that work on at least 2 gigawatts of capacity begins by 2033.

“The economic opportunity is enormous,” said Pritzker, emphasizing that nuclear energy, as a stable source, represents a necessary complement to renewable energy sources in order to achieve the goal of 100% decarbonization by mid-century.