The following information was published by the American Nuclear Corporation (ANSWER):

The Ogle County The Board has approved a land use plan amendment that will add 524 acres to the Byron Nuclear power plant in the north Illinoismore as industrial than as agricultural.

Although no specific development details have been released, the zoning change gives parent company Constellation the opportunity to “attract large companies capable of bringing additional jobs and tax dollars Ogle County,” Speaker Paul Dempsey said in an email last week.

Board member Daniel Janes (R., Ref. 5, Stillman Valley) 20.08. meeting and supported Constellation’s proposal as it could “do very positive things around the nuclear power plant.” Janes cited examples of data center developments in the region involving Meta and Microsoft that have led to unexpected economic revenue.

The zoning plan amendment was approved with 184 votes and one board member abstaining.

Quote: “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Janes said at the meeting, according to Ogle County Life. “It will bring in millions of dollars. To make it equal to agriculture would require 434,000 new acres of farmland. $50 an acre to operate a data center for a year. We want to promote economic development and generate new revenue. . . . (Byron) a nuclear power plant could probably operate for another 40 to 60 years if it had a continuous industry to supply energy.”

Constellation called the approval of the rezoning “a victory for taxpayers and a positive step for future business development in the county,” Dempsey said. “The vote allows Constellation to strategically market its carbon-free power generation from the Byron Clean Energy Center, along with suitable land for development purposes to attract large companies capable of bringing additional jobs and taxpayer dollars to the area.” Ogle County.”

Constellation executives have emphasized the company’s interest in installing advanced nuclear technology at its current sites to meet growing energy needs in the short term and quickly. In addition, several nuclear companies, including Constellation, have shown interest in developing data center sites near nuclear power plants to meet energy needs through carbon-free generation.

A closer look: Byron is one of six works in Illinois It is operated by Constellation, the company with the largest nuclear fleet in the country. Byron and other Illinois Power plants were threatened with premature shutdown several years ago due to economic bottlenecks in the energy market. In 2021 Illinois Governor. JB Pritzker signed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act to overhaul the state’s energy policy and Byron, Braidwoodand the Dresden nuclear power plants.

The dual units in Byron are approved for operation until 2044 and 2046 respectively.