Posts by Matt Steffen

By Ty Batemon | WCIA Two years ago, the state passed an historic clean energy bill. Even though that happened, some say there’s still a lot that needs to be done for a cleaner future. “It’s because the effects of climate change are happening now. This is something people are saying it’s happening in five…

By Cymphanie Sherman, Fox Illinois On Wednesday, people gathered at the Lincoln Library to talk about the future for clean energy here in Illinois. Community members were invited to talk about what’s working in their community and what could be better. The goal is finding a way to bring the state to 100 percent renewable…

THE NEWS-GAZETTE Since the Future Energy Job Act (FEJA), Illinois’ bipartisan clean energy and job-building piece of legislation passed in 2016, Illinois’ reliance on coal has diminished. FEJA creates programs and incentives that put Illinois on a path toward further reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. By 2030, the state is expected to produce approximately…

Kevin Stark | Energy News Network The project will be sited in a vegetable garden at an affordable housing facility on Chicago’s South Side. One of the first community solar systems in Illinois won’t be a run-of-the-mill array of PV panels. The Renaissance Collaborative (TRC), an affordable housing complex on Chicago’s South Side, is the…

Corilyn Shropshire | Chicago Tribune Tech firm Salesforce said it will back the construction of a new renewable energy wind farm in McLean County, a project that has been in the planning stages for 10 years. The Bright Stalk Wind Farm will be built near Bloomington-Normal, and owned and operated by EDP Renewables North America,…

Kari Lydersen | Energy News Network The family company Wellspring Components started four generations ago to fabricate metal for horse-drawn buggies for Amish families in Indiana. Today, its offshoot Wellspring Solar is among a growing number of national and Midwestern companies launching new solar operations in Illinois, thanks to incentives under the state’s Future Energy…

The Editorial Board Thanks to the 2016 adoption of the Illinois Future Jobs Act, counties all over Illinois are acting on solar-farm ordinances and proposed solar farms. Champaign County joined the parade last week with the adoption of a solar-farm ordinance. At the time the Legislature passed the Illinois Future Jobs Act in December 2016,…

Gary L. Smith | The Peoria Journal Star LACON – Marshall County’s list of potential future solar energy installations continued to grow last week with Zoning Board of Appeals approval of three projects of the type being developed at numerous sites around central Illinois and elsewhere in the state. The panel voted unanimously Thursday night…