* 2/18/26 - Pritzker wants to find sites for new nuclear reactors + related Executive Order ...................
Buzz Sawyer
Pritzker wants to find sites for new nuclear reactors
Illinois’ status as a power exporter is suddenly in doubt.
Explosive growth in data centers — fueled by artificial intelligence — is pushing up demand across the grid and driving higher electricity prices. In response, Gov. JB Pritzker is expected to sign an executive order today aimed at bringing new nuclear reactors to the state for the first time in nearly 40 years.
Lawmakers agreed last year to lift the state’s ban on building new nuclear reactors. Pritzker's order today directs state agencies and regulators to begin evaluating potential reactor sites with a goal of getting construction underway by 2033.
It’s an ambitious goal for a governor who has made clean energy a centerpiece of his two terms in office. Pritzker, who is scheduled to outline his new budget today, also is stressing affordability in his campaign for a third term.
The most recent conventional reactors were built in Georgia in 2023 and 2024 at a cost of about $35 billion. No new ones have been proposed since then.
Illinois has the largest nuclear fleet in the country with six facilities and 11 reactors. The state has long been a net exporter of power, but that’s at risk because of the explosive growth of data centers — fueled by the introduction of cheap, widely available artificial intelligence.
Data centers are a key reason behind a recent jump in electricity prices, and politicians such as Pritzker are under pressure from voters to do something to lower them.
Although Illinois is a net exporter of power, it’s part of the larger PJM regional grid. As demand rises across the region, it drives up everyone’s power prices, which are set by auctions for reserve power that is needed during peak demand periods. Illinois likely will begin to import power by 2030, according to a recent report.
Pritzker’s executive order will call for delivering 2 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity, either through new plants or expansions. That’s about what two traditional reactors would produce, or enough to power 2 million homes. It's also about the same amount of power required by a new Amazon data center that's being built in Northwest Indiana.
"Safe, reliable energy is critical to the success of the manufacturing sector, which uses large amounts of energy to produce the goods we rely on every day," Mark Denzler, CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers' Association said in a statement. "This is an exciting next step toward a more stable and sustainable energy future."
Pritzker’s order will task the Illinois Power Agency and Illinois Commerce Commission, along with other state agencies, to begin working immediately to evaluate potential nuclear sites. The order also involves developing a modern legal and regulatory framework. A report on the recommendations is scheduled to be completed in 150 days.
The order directs the Illinois Power Agency and Illinois Commerce Commission to gather information from potential nuclear-project developers of new or existing facilities about the types of reactors they might want to build, the cost and timelines involved, as well as financing. They’ll also be asked to detail the economic benefits, consumer protections and environmental and safety standards involved.
“This work will equip agencies with the information and expertise needed to evaluate new nuclear facilities as part of Illinois’ portfolio and, where necessary, the development of nuclear facilities,” Pritzker said in a statement.
The state says it already has heard from companies interested in developing reactors here.
Communities will be asked if they want to host a nuclear facility. Pritzker says the state will not impose facilities on communities.
It can take a decade to get plans for a new nuclear plant approved and as long to build. Existing facilities might be able to expand more quickly.
Whether anyone will take Illinois up on its offer remains to be seen. The most recent nuclear power plants were built nearly 40 years ago. Since then, Illinois has deregulated the energy industry. Only recently, the state had to subsidize some plants to keep them operating.
“A merchant nuclear power plant is not likely to be built because the liabilities are so high,” says Mark Pruitt, who runs energy consulting firm The Power Bureau and is former director of the Illinois Power Agency “No private company’s balance sheet could support the company if there was an accident. It takes a regulated utility because they’re guaranteed they can make back their returns.“
A more promising avenue might be small modular reactors, he says. But the technology hasn’t yet been commercialized.
Pritzker may have an unexpected ally in his frequent nemesis, President Donald Trump, who last year set a goal of quadrupling U.S. nuclear output by 2050.
John Pletz is a senior reporter covering technology, aviation and cannabis for Crain’s Chicago Business. He joined Crain's in 2007 and previously covered technology for the American-Statesman in Austin, Texas.