Constellation seeks rezone for property adjacent to Illinois plant ( www.ans.org )

While no development details have been released, Constellation is asking to rezone 658.8 acres of land it owns around the Byron nuclear plant in Illinois for possible long-term use.

Constellation spokesman Paul Dempsey said via email: “Reclassifying some existing parcels from agricultural to industrial would allow Constellation to use the land for future development.”

A closer look: The Ogle County, Ill., board heard an update from board member Dan Janes at its June meeting regarding ongoing petition work by Constellation, the owner of the Byron nuclear power plant, to change the zoning classification of some of its property.

Janes said that Constellation wants to change all of its agricultural-zoned land to industrial zoning due to some "very positive things that could happen up and around the nuclear plant.” The county board is working through the process as quickly as possible and it could be seen for approval at the July 16 board meeting.

"This would give [Constellation] the opportunity to look into some very demanding customers to help their industry," Janes said. "I cannot share all of the information. This would probably have a very positive impact on our county's equalized assessed value. It could have the opportunity to be as big as big can get in Ogle County. We need to do this so we're first on the list."

The ground that would see zoning changes is mostly on top of the quarry on which the nuclear plant is built.

Noted: Constellation’s chief executive Joe Dominguez said in the company’s most recent earnings call in May that it is considering adding advanced nuclear technology at its current sites to provide the quickest near-term support for increased power generation demands as data centers and artificial intelligence growth strain the U.S. power grid. Several nuclear companies, including Constellation, have also expressed interest in developing data center campuses on adjoining property to help meet energy demand with carbon-free generation.

Byron history: In 2020, Exelon (then owner of Byron and Illinois’s five other nuclear plants) announced plans to prematurely retire the Byron plant due to economic constraints.

In 2021, the Illinois governor signed into law the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (S.B. 2408) to overhaul the state’s energy policies and aid three of Exelon’s struggling nuclear plants—Braidwood, Byron, and Dresden—and phase out fossil-fuel power generation in the state by 2050.