What Illinois' Clean And Reliable Grid Affordability Act Means For Project Developers

Governor Pritzker signed the Illinois Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act into law on January 8, 2026 (Public Act 104-0458). The act has far reaching energy supply, grid regulation and infrastructure development provisions, which will accelerate the state's clean energy transition, improve grid stability and help manage rising electricity demands.

Time will tell whether the Act will achieve its intended policy goals, but it may provide project developers with opportunities to more efficiently and effectively advance power generation and storage projects that will be badly needed to serve the state's large and growing list of load service requests from data centers and other large power consumers.

The Act includes the following key provisions:

1. Lifting Nuclear Ban: The Act ends the state's 40-year prohibition on the construction of new, large-scale nuclear reactors over 300 megawatts. The end of this restriction aims to provide carbon-free baseload power year-round.
2. Battery Storage Mandate: The Act mandates the procurement and deployment of three gigawatts of battery storage by 2030. These new projects will be financed through a new mechanism on customer bills similar to the one used to keep the state's nuclear plants operating. Under this model, developers will be paid a guaranteed credit over a long-term contract (e.g., 20 years), which will be funded by a new charge on customer utility bills. The added capacity from battery storage facilities is crucial to replace the approximately 3 GW of fossil fuel generation slated for retirement by 2030 and to integrate the state's growing fleet of renewable energy resources (wind and solar).
3. Expanded Regulatory Control: The Act directs the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) to oversee long-term energy planning through Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs) for utility companies. This expands the state's control over how energy is produced, and requires detailed utility modeling on emissions, affordability and grid reliability for five to 20 years out.
4. Local Siting Reform: The Act aims to streamline the permitting process for new energy storage, wind and solar facilities by setting statewide standards, limiting local fees and establishing an administrative appeal process for disputes administered by the ICC. These reforms cut through the red tape at a local level and aim to have renewable energy projects up and running more quickly and efficiently.
5. Time-of-Use (TOU) Rates: The Act requires utilities to offer optional TOU rates, which charge customers less for using electricity during off-peak hours (e.g., in the evening) and more during peak hours. This encourages shifting usage to lower-cost times.
6. Virtual Power Plants (VPPs): The Act creates a program to incentivize and coordinate VPPs, which pool energy from decentralized sources like home solar panels, residential batteries and electric vehicles. This network of smaller power plants will provide quick grid stability.

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