Constellation succeeds in rezoning property near Illinois nuclear plant
The Ogle County Board has approved a zoning change that designates 524 acres around the Byron nuclear power plant, located in northern Illinois, as industrial rather than agricultural.
While no specific development details have been released, the change in zoning gives parent company Constellation leverage to “attract major companies capable of bringing additional jobs and tax money to Ogle County,” spokesperson Paul Dempsey said last week in an email.
Board member Dan Janes (R., Dist. 5, Stillman Valley) led August 20 meeting and has championed Constellation’s request, saying it could lead to “very positive things that could happen up and around the nuclear plant.” Janes cited examples of data center developments in the region involving Meta and Microsoft that produced economic windfalls.
The zoning change was approved with an 18–4 vote with one board member abstaining.
Quotable: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Janes said at the meeting, according to Ogle County Life. “It will generate millions of dollars. To equate it to agriculture, it would take 434,000 new acres of farmland at $50 an acre to equivocate one year of a data center. We want to enhance economic development and generate new income. . . . [Byron] nuclear plant could probably go [another] 40-60 years if it had a continuous industry to feed [its] energy."
Constellation called the rezone approval “a win 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 electricity generation from the Byron Clean Energy Center, along with suitable land for development purposes, to attract major companies capable of bringing additional jobs and tax money to Ogle County.”
Constellation executives have touted the company’s interest in adding advanced nuclear technology at its current sites to provide the quickest near-term support for growing energy demands. Also, several nuclear companies, including Constellation, have shown interest in developing data center campuses adjacent to nuclear plant properties to help meet energy demand with carbon-free generation.
A closer look: Byron is one of six plants in Illinois operated by Constellation, which owns the nation’s largest nuclear fleet. Byron and other Illinois plants were at risk of premature retirement several years ago due to economic constraints in the energy market. In 2021, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act to overhaul the state’s energy policies and aid the Byron, Braidwood, and Dresden nuclear plants.
The dual units in Byron are licensed to operate until 2044 and 2046.
