Illinois lifts moratorium on new large nuclear reactors

January 9, 2026, 9:34AMNuclear News
Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker displays the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act during the signing ceremony in Joliet on January 8. (Image: Office of the Governor of Illinois)

New power reactors of any size can be now be sited in the state of Illinois, thanks to legislation signed by Gov. J. B. Pritzker on January 8. The Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (CRGA)—which Pritzker says is designed to lower energy costs for consumers, drive the development of new energy resources in the state, and strengthen the grid—lifts the moratorium on new, large nuclear reactors that Illinois enacted in the late 1980s.