Senate Advances Energy Bill to Governor, Byron Nuke Plant Shutdown Averted
Exelon officials say the Byron nuclear generating plant went offline Monday morning and were awaiting Senate passage of a major energy bill before refueling the station. After passage, Exelon says it will keep Byron open.
At 1 a.m. Monday morning, Exelon took the Byron nuclear station in northern Illinois offline. Whether the plant was refueled or shut down for good depended on what happened a few hours later about 200 miles south, in the Senate chamber in Springfield.
Though, after the House got most of the major players on board last week and passed a bill, passage was widely expected in the Senate Monday. The chamber voted 37-17 to advance the legislation to Governor JB Pritzker’s desk, one more than required for passage. Pritzker has indicated he will sign the bill.
Two Republicans, Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) who represents a nuclear plant in Grundy County and Sen. John Curran (R-Downers Grove) voted for the bill. Sen. Rachelle Crowe (D-Glen Carbon) voted against it.
“We’re putting Illinois at the forefront of [the] green energy economy, a whole new wave of jobs, without immediately sacrificing a whole bunch of incumbent jobs,” said Senate President Don Harmon. “That’s what we spent the summer doing, was trying to find that balance, to try to make sure people didn’t wake up tomorrow without a job but that every kid in the state knows they have a brighter environmental future and the prospect of going to work in the clean energy economy.”
While many Republicans supported efforts to keep nuclear plants, and the jobs that come with them, in tact, most opposed the legislation, citing expected rate increases.
“While I wish I could have supported this bill to save the Byron Nuclear Plant, the fact is this energy package does more harm to the people of this state than it does to protect them,” said Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Cherry Valley). “The Governor and his allies have created a no-win situation with this energy proposal, holding Byron and other nuclear facilities hostage. Under this proposal, the only way Bryon was to be allowed to remain open was if lawmakers supported the largest utility rate increase in Illinois history and awarded massive subsidies to wind and solar energy companies. We are left with a bill that will accelerate job loss, undercut Illinoisan’s energy reliability with no viable replacements, and bolster the economies of our neighboring states to the detriment of hardworking Illinoisans. The damage will be irreversible.”
But Governor JB Pritzker supported the measure, saying in a statement Monday the bill will “mitigate the impacts of climate change here in Illinois.”
“SB 2408 puts the state on a path toward 100% clean energy and invests in training a diverse workforce for the jobs of the future. Illinois will become the best state in the nation to manufacture and drive an electric vehicle, and equity will be prioritized in every new program created,” Pritzker said. “SB2408 puts consumers and climate at the forefront, prioritizing meaningful ethics and transparency reforms, and institutes key ratepayer and residential customer protections.”
Shortly after the vote, Exelon confirmed it will refuel the Byron plant and begin hiring back workers.
“This new policy offers a better future for the employees who have run these plants at world-class levels, the plant communities that we are privileged to serve and all Illinoisans eager to build a clean-energy economy that works for everyone,” Exelon president and CEO Christopher Crane said in a statement.
Exelon says 60% of the state’s energy is produced by Exelon’s six nuclear plants, including 90% of carbon-free energy. Exelon will also keep its Dresden plant in Grundy County operational. It was slated for shutdown if the General Assembly didn’t act by November.