Aspen Ideas: Climate | Illinois and Pragmatic Policy
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is steering the state toward a fully clean-energy grid by 2050 while trying to keep electricity affordable and preserve jobs, a balancing act that now includes tightening rules on data-center development and backing a new wave of nuclear power and water-restoration projects.
The governor’s agenda, outlined in recent speeches and legislative proposals, builds on the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), a multibillion-dollar package negotiated with unions, environmental groups and business leaders. CEJA, which Pritzker touts as one of the nation’s strongest climate laws for a manufacturing-heavy Midwestern state, expands renewable capacity, creates green jobs and sets a target to eliminate all fossil-fuel plants by 2045, with the ultimate goal of running Illinois entirely on clean energy by 2050.
Reviving Nuclear Power
A cornerstone of the plan is reviving nuclear power. Earlier this year the governor signed the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act, lifting a moratorium on large-scale nuclear construction. Illinois already generates roughly 56 percent of its electricity from nuclear plants, and a licensed site in Clinton is ready for a new reactor. An executive order creates a fast-track interview process for nuclear developers, and the state is positioning itself to host small modular reactors within the next few years, hoping to provide baseload power that complements wind and solar while keeping rates low.
Managing Data Center Growth
At the same time, Illinois is reining in the rapid expansion of data centers, which have been both a draw for high-tech jobs and a source of rising electricity costs. A 2019 tax-incentive program meant to attract data-center builders was suspended after studies linked the incentives to higher regional transmission expenses and a 15 percent jump in residential power bills last year. The pending Power Act would require new facilities to bring their own clean energy and install closed-loop water-reuse systems—a clause nicknamed the "Beyoncé provision." While the legislation has not yet passed, the governor has announced a pause on further tax credits until stricter environmental standards are codified.
Water Restoration and Carbon Storage
Pritzker’s strategy also tackles water scarcity, a growing concern as data-center and AI operations demand massive volumes of cooling water—about two billion gallons per gigawatt of capacity annually. In the Great Plains, invasive species such as eastern red cedar and salt cedar consume roughly twice the water used by all U.S. data centers combined, intercepting rainfall and preventing aquifer recharge.
An innovative startup called Charm is harvesting these plants, pyrolyzing the biomass at roughly 500 °C to produce two marketable by-products: biochar, which is returned to soil to improve water and nutrient retention, and a bio-oil derived from barbecue-sauce flavorings. The bio-oil is injected into depleted oil wells for permanent carbon storage, while the biochar is projected to save an additional five billion gallons of irrigation water.
Regional Pilot Projects
Pilot projects in the tri-state area (Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin) demonstrate the potential scale of the approach. A 2,000-acre restoration could free 285 million gallons of water each year—enough for a town of 60,000 residents or ten percent of a gigawatt data center’s water use.
Extrapolating across the more than one million acres of invasive red cedar and tens of thousands of acres of salt cedar in Nebraska and Kansas, researchers estimate that removing these plants and re-establishing native ecosystems could return roughly 200 billion gallons of water to the ground annually. That volume would supply about two million households or 100 large data centers, while also reviving silted-up wetlands (playas) that currently block groundwater recharge.
A Water-Positive Growth Strategy
The governor frames these initiatives as a "water-positive" growth model: economic development that restores a scarce resource rather than depleting it. By coupling clean-energy generation with policies that limit the environmental impact of high-intensity data-center operations and by creating markets for invasive-species removal, Illinois hopes to avoid the "climate whiplash" of shifting political winds and set a durable path toward a sustainable, low-cost electricity future.
Regional Cooperation
Regional cooperation remains essential. Illinois’ electricity rates are tied to the actions of the PJM and MISO transmission operators, which span multiple states and are still dominated by fossil-fuel interests. Pritzker has been working with neighboring governors to push these organizations toward cleaner practices, arguing that a coordinated, Midwest-wide effort is required to keep power affordable and the grid reliable.
Looking Ahead
If the Power Act passes and the nuclear and water-restoration projects move forward as planned, Illinois could emerge as a national model for integrating clean energy, high-tech industry, and resource stewardship—a blueprint that other states may look to as they grapple with the twin challenges of climate change and economic competitiveness.