The compromise negotiated in secret by U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., along with President Biden, would provide nearly $370 billion in new spending on energy projects, most of which are designed to reduce greenhouse emissions.
A centerpiece is the long-debated production tax credit for nuclear power plants. Illinois produces the most atomic power in the country, and for the better part of the last decade, the owner of the facilities has threatened at various times to shutter reactors due to insufficient revenue.
Energy prices are high now for the first time in well over a decade, so there’s no threat of closures anymore. In addition, the state has moved twice to subsidize the nukes, owned now by Baltimore-based Constellation Energy Group, and keep them open.
For ComEd customers, the good news is that the proposed federal subsidy would help defray any…
Joe Manchin’s climate deal would help Illinois clean energy
