Constellation requests 20-year license renewal for Illinois nuclear plant

Constellation has filed a license renewal application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for its Clinton Clean Energy Center in Clinton, Illinois, seeking a 20-year extension.

The Clinton plant, which began operation in 1987 and can produce up to 1,080 MW, is currently licensed to operate through April of 2027. The license renewal, if approved, would extend to 2047.

Later this year Constellation is scheduled to file a second license renewal for its two-unit Dresden Clean Energy Center in Morris, Illinois, which would allow Unit 2 to operate until 2049, and Unit 3 to operate until 2051. The move, announced in 2022 along with the plans to extend the life of the Clinton plant, marked a reversal in fortune for both power plants, which were on the road to early retirement due to unfavorable economics less than two years before the announcement.

The continued operation of Clinton has been enabled by state legislation enacted in 2016, and the enactment of the federal nuclear production tax credit in 2022 extended policy support through 2032.

“The Clinton Clean Energy Center is not only the largest carbon-free electricity source in Central Illinois, but it also provides a major boost to the economy,” said Dan Matthews, president of the Clinton School District Board and a member of the DeWitt County Board. “The more than $13 million in annual property taxes supports education and county services, and the large number of employees live here and spend money, which supports local business and creates additional jobs. The plant’s relicensing is an important part of DeWitt County’s economic future.”

The Clinton license renewal application is the latest in a series of investments across the company. In 2023, Constellation announced the acquisition of a 44 percent ownership stake in the South Texas Project nuclear plant, an $800 million uprate project at the Braidwood and Byron clean energy centers in Illinois, and a $350 million uprate of its Criterion Wind Project in Maryland.