Energy Bill Heads To Pritzker, Who Says He Will Sign It
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate put the final legislative stamp on an energy regulation overhaul bill Monday, sending it to Gov. JB Pritzker, who says he will sign it. It’s the culmination of years of negotiation, and it marks a policy win on one of Pritzker’s biggest outstanding first-term campaign promises as the 2022 campaign […]
Illinois House OKs Zero-Carbon Power Plan, Senate Is Next
SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois House has approved a wide-ranging plan to eliminate carbon emissions by 2050. Approval came Thursday night on an 82-33 vote after a compromise allowing to coal-fired plants to remain open until 2045 but cut their emissions by nearly half in the next 14 years. The Senate will take up the proposal […]
House Passes Energy Bill With Labor, Environmental Groups On Board
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House approved an energy regulation and decarbonization bill Thursday, a major step forward for a wide-ranging omnibus bill that had eluded lawmakers throughout the legislative session and the governor’s three years in office. The measure that aims to bring Illinois’ energy generation sector to 100 percent carbon-free by 2050 and 50 […]
Energy Bill Negotiations Head To House After Talks Once Again Derailed
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate approved an energy bill in the early hours of Wednesday morning but it’s likely to change as negotiations continue in the House, which has not set a date as to when it will return. A lead negotiator in the House said time is of the essence with key deadlines arriving […]
Energy Bill Could See A Vote As State Lawmakers Return For Redistricting Session
SPRINGFIELD – Lawmakers will return to the Statehouse on Tuesday for what is scheduled as a one-day special session to reconsider the legislative redistricting plan they passed during the spring session. But the General Assembly might also vote on an energy regulatory overhaul bill that has stalled on numerous occasions, including at the end of […]
Organized Labor Declares Impasse With Environmental Groups Over Clean Energy Overhaul
A coalition of influential labor unions says negotiations with environmental groups over a massive new clean energy proposal have reached impasse, and is asking Gov. JB Pritzker and lawmakers to step back into talks to broker a compromise. The impasse declaration comes just days after nuclear giant Exelon doubled down on its threat to close […]
Senate Adjourns With No Energy Deal, But Harmon ‘Confident’ One Is Still Near
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate adjourned Tuesday without calling a comprehensive energy regulatory reform package for a vote. After adjournment, Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, made a statement similar to one he made June 1 after the Senate failed to call an energy bill for a vote ahead of the regular session adjournment. “There […]
State Invests $15 Million To Fuel Two New Manufacturing Programs Downstate
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker announced Wednesday the state was distributing funds to two downstate Illinois community colleges for electric vehicle manufacturing and renewable energy generation training programs. Pritzker made the announcement at Heartland Community College in Normal, where one of the new programs will launch. “I’m committed to building an Illinois that is focused […]
Pritzker Enters Crowded Battle Over ‘Clean Energy,’ Utility Accountability After ComEd Scandal
SPRINGFIELD – After months of declining to endorse any specific plan to both get Illinois on a path to 100% renewable energy and crack down on public utilities’ power in Springfield, Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday entered the already raucous fight with his own legislation that will compete with at least three other proposals that have […]
Nuclear Power Proponents Speak Out To Save Two Illinois Plants
CHAMPAIGN — Proponents of nuclear power in Illinois are rallying together in hopes of preventing the decommissioning of two nuclear power plants — the Byron and Dresden Generating Stations. Exelon announced late last year that it plans to retire the two plants in the fall due to financial concerns. Both stations are licensed to operate […]
Clean Energy Jobs Act Advances To House Floor
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House Energy and Environment Committee advanced a pair of energy bills that would overhaul the state’s energy industry to the House floor Monday. House Bill 804, otherwise known as the Clean Energy Jobs Act, or CEJA, would put Illinois on track to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. House Bill 2640, known […]
By 2050, Illinois Would Use Only Renewable Energy Under Bill
SPRINGFIELD — Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly are reviving a plan to make Illinois reliant only on renewable power sources by 2050 with policies and regulations to encourage a switch to generating energy from such sustainable sources as wind and solar. The Clean Energy Jobs Act has a new boost with the election of […]
Advocates Tout Economic Benefits Of Renewable Energy Investment
While advocates in Illinois were optimistic that a series of measures reforming the state’s energy landscape could pass in 2019, various factors caused…
University Of Illinois Begins Construction On Second Solar Farm As Part Of Renewable Energy Plan
The University of Illinois has begun construction on its second solar farm, as part of its long-term plan to expand renewable energy and become carbon-neutral by 2050. The new solar farm will provide 20,000 megawatt hours per year to the U of I campus—the equivalent to powering around 2,000 average homes. The project follows the […]
Harnessing The ‘Wind Belt’: Study Maps Renewable Wind Energy Potential In Illinois
Researchers at the Nature Conservancy have developed a map identifying the best places in Illinois to install renewable wind energy. They say it is a tool to help speed up the move away from fossil fuels. The central United States has the potential to generate a total of 1,000 gigawatts of renewable wind energy, according […]