US power utility Exelon Generation, whose Byron and Dresden nuclear stations in Illinois had been threatened with closure, has announced plans to invest more than $300m in capital projects for the two facilities over the next five years.

Exelon said the decision was the result of sweeping clean energy legislation passed in September by the Illinois General Assembly. The legislation promises $694m in support for economically struggling nuclear power sector.

Exelon said that while the nuclear support provision in the legislation represents less than 20% of the cost of the overall legislation in the coming years, it has an outsized impact on the state’s climate and economic goals. Saving the plants preserves two-thirds of the state’s clean energy, avoids a 70% rise in emissions, protects 28,000 direct and indirect jobs, and prevents a $480m increase in annual energy prices for consumers.

The company said it also expects to fill 650 vacant positions statewide.