BYRON (WREX) — Time is ticking. As of June 16, Exelon announced closing dates for both of its reactors in Byron. One will close on September 14 with the second reactor closing two days later.
The closing dates though doesn’t mean the plant’s fate is sealed according to state representative Tom Demmer. Rather, this places a clear timeline that lawmakers have to save the plant and pass a clean energy bill.
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Of the things to hammer out in Springfield, nuclear energy isn’t one of them per Demmer. He says the decision to keep using nuclear power in the state is a done deal. However, the sticking point is a major dispute over coal and natural gas.
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One of those plants supplies electricity to Rochelle. An immediate shutdown would cost the city millions of dollars which is just one instance of how the debate over if and when these plants should be closed in a new clean energy deal.
Demmer added that conversations about these sticking points are going on every day, and that lawmakers could get called back to Springfield any day.