Illinois governor J. B. Pritzker has signed into law a wide-ranging energy reform package that includes the lifting of a longtime ban on new large-scale nuclear power plants in the state.

The legislation means new power reactors of any size can be now be sited in Illinois. The Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (CRGA) – which Pritzker says is designed to lower energy costs for consumers, drive the development of new energy resources in the state, and strengthen the grid – lifts the moratorium on new, large nuclear reactors that Illinois enacted in the late 1980s.

The CRGA will go into effect on 1 June. Illinois will then be able to add large-scale capacity to its nuclear fleet, which already has more power reactors than any other site – 11 plants across six sites at Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle and Quad Cities.