Will Illinois Remain a Leader in Nuclear?

And Tech Events Around the City

Author

Landon Campbell
March 10, 2025

99th Edition

This Week on Landon’s Loop:

☢️ Will Illinois Remain a Leader in Nuclear?

📊 Chart of the Week

📆 Events Around the City

🔙 Previous Newsletter Editions

🔙 Highlights from Last Week

We hosted startups from UChicago Polsky Center’s Transform, Duality, and Resurgence accelerators at our office. 👇🏽

Stripe announced it is expanding its Chicago presence, doubling its office space from approximately 45,000 to 90,000 square feet. 👇🏽

I attended the 4th annual Revolution Awards at mHUB celebrating manufacturing excellence in Illinois. 👇🏽

☢️ Will Illinois Remain a Leader in Nuclear?

Illinois has a true edge in nuclear energy, and we should build on it because in an AI future, nuclear isn’t optional.

Staying the nation’s nuclear leader won’t happen on its own, so today let’s talk about how other states are racing to meet rising energy demand, who’s trying to catch up to Illinois, what policies could threaten our advantage, and why it matters for local startups.

Several States Competing with Illinois

If we want to stay on top, we need to start building more big nuclear (reactors over 1 GW) which we’re currently not doing.

Meanwhile, other states are making bold moves to bring large-scale reactors back online:

  • Pennsylvania is reopening Three Mile Island to power Microsoft data centers.

  • Michigan lawmakers are advancing bipartisan nuclear incentives, and DTE Energy is considering reviving Fermi 3, a federally licensed but never-used plant.

  • Wisconsin is speeding up nuclear approvals, now requiring reactor site studies and committing to 150-day project reviews.

  • Iowa has launched a statewide nuclear energy plan to meet growing AI and data center needs, recognizing the importance of always-on, carbon-free power.

Here in Illinois, our existing nuclear fleet continues to keep power stable and affordable. And in 2022, we made a smart move by saving three major reactors from closure—helping us avoid the energy price spikes others are now facing.

Illinois is ahead today, but momentum is building elsewhere. And to be honest, some current legislation here at home puts our lead at risk.

What Needs to Change

While other states expand their nuclear infrastructure, Illinois still bans the construction of reactors over 1 GW, effectively sidelining proven technologies like the AP1000 in favor of untested small modular reactors.

To make matters worse, nuclear energy still isn’t officially recognized as “renewable” in Illinois, which excludes it from key clean energy incentives.

A new bill (HB3779) could make things more difficult. If passed, it would require AI companies to run solely on renewable energy, pushing innovation to other states that are embracing nuclear as a core part of their clean energy strategy.

The path forward is clear:

  • Lift the ban on large reactors.

  • Recognize nuclear as clean energy in Illinois.

  • Reject anti-nuclear mandates that could hold us back.

How Chicago Startups are Impacted

This isn’t just an energy issue—it’s a competitiveness issue.

Startups and fast-growing companies need access to affordable, stable compute. As AI workloads surge and GPUs become more power-hungry, energy becomes a critical input cost. The more Illinois restricts nuclear, the more we risk pushing high-growth companies elsewhere.

If we want Chicago to be a top-tier AI hub, we need to ensure the infrastructure exists to support it. That means abundant clean energy and a power grid that can scale with innovation.

Companies won’t build here if the compute isn’t here. It’s that simple.

📊 Chart of the Week

Chicago leads cities for the highest number of corporate relocations 10 years in a row.

In 2024, World Business Chicago tracked 140+ pro-Chicago decisions, creating 14,800+ jobs and filling 12M+ sq. ft

📆 Events Around the City

Data Night at Drive: The Use of Responsible AI in a Regulated Industry

  • Hosted by Drive Capital and UChicago DSI

  • Wednesday

  • RSVP

Creative AI Meetup

Connect Series: 1871 x Polsky Center Emerging Tech Lightning Talk

March Community Happy Hour

🗞 Previous Newsletter Editions:

#98 - Does Chicago Need a Mega Hub or Niche Communities

#97 - Potential AI Data Center Coming to Chicago

👋 See you next week!

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