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NRC Renews Operating Licenses for Constellation's Nuclear Reactors at Clinton and Dresden Facilities

LCG, December 16, 2025--The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced today that it has renewed the operating licenses of Constellation LLC’s Clinton Unit 1 in Clinton, Illinois, and Dresden Units 2 and 3, near Morris, Illinois, for an additional 20 years beyond the current expiration dates. The combined capacity of these three, Illinois-based nuclear units is 2,925 MW, and the operating license extension will enable the units to generate carbon-free power through about 2050.

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ERCOT Announces Organizational Changes to Promote Grid Reliability, Rapid Demand Growth, and Innovation

LCG, December 12, 2025--Today, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT) announced strategic organizational changes designed to accelerate innovation, strengthen grid reliability, and support the unprecedented growth in the demand for electricity across Texas. To meet these objectives, ERCOT created two new organizations: Interconnection and Grid Analysis, and Enterprise Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The two organizations will formally launch in January 2026.

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Industry News

Senators Propose National Renewable Electricity Standard

LCG, September 22, 2010--Senators Bingaman (New Mexico) and Brownback (Kansas) yesterday announced plans to reintroduce a bill to create a federal renewable electricity standard (RES). The legislation is alleged to increase our energy security, enhance the reliability of the electricity grid by creating more homegrown renewable energy, and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

The stand-alone, 43-page RES bill is almost identical to the RES included in the American Clean Energy Leadership Act, S. 1462, according to Senator Bingaman. The bill requires electricity suppliers to ratchet up the percent of renewable energy supplies (or energy efficiency improvements) from 3 percent in 2012 to 15 percent in 2021. The bill is designed not to affect state programs.

Like prior the proposal, the bill includes (i) an exemption for utilities selling less than 4 million megawatt hours per year of electricity and (ii) the option to pay alternative compliance payments to the Secretary at a rate of 2.1 cents per kWh.

Renewable energy sources include wind, solar, ocean, geothermal, landfill gas, incremental hydropower, hydrokinetic, and new hydropower at existing dams, an expanded waste-to-energy definition that includes municipal wastes, and biomass.

Although biomass is included as a renewable resource, the bill does nothing to address the carbon neutrality of biomass, which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has called into question with its proposed Tailoring Rule that does not treat biomass as carbon neutral. Without carbon neutrality, biomass development will likely be limited, and it will not become the primary, non-hydro source of renewables, as forecast this year in the Energy Information Administration's Annual Energy Outlook.

Senator Bingaman states, "I think that the votes are present in the Senate to pass a renewable electricity standard. I think that they are present in the House. I think that we need to get on with figuring out what we can pass and move forward."
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