Posts by Tucker Barry

CHAMPAIGN, IL – Last week, the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign publicly released “Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage in Illinois,” a report requested by the Illinois General Assembly through Public Act 102-0341. The report and Policy Supplement includes a preliminary assessment for Illinois policy makers on the implications, opportunities, and challenges of…

As heating affordability crisis, children’s health concerns, and climate change escalate, urgency grows to pass healthy buildings ordinance for new construction in Chicago Chicago, IL – Amid staggeringly high gas bills and a record-breaking rate-hike request from Peoples Gas, a group of consumer, health and environmental advocates urged Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Chicago City…

“The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition applauds the passage of House Bill 4412, which standardizes and clarifies the process of siting clean energy projects like utility-scale wind and solar. To lower electric bills, create good paying jobs, make our air healthier to breathe and protect the planet from climate change, Illinois must build more clean energy capacity…

CHICAGO – On Tuesday, the inaugural Illinois Clean Energy Champion Awards celebrated job creation by private companies, nonprofit organizations and governmental units from across Illinois that have seized the chance to make Illinois a national leader in clean energy. The event is a joint project of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois Clean…

As People’s Gas announces record-high profits and prices, coalition calls for immediate action to lower consumer utility bills while protecting the climate  CHICAGO – After more than a year of stakeholder engagement and participation of more than 50 community, building industry, and environmental justice leaders in the Chicago Building Decarbonizing Policy Development Working Group, the…

Coalition applauds City for ensuring equity, exceeding climate goals, prioritizing consumers  CHICAGO – Following the City of Chicago announcement regarding procurement of 100% clean, renewable to power city buildings starting in 2025, the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition released this statement: “The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition applauds Mayor Lightfoot and the City of Chicago for taking…

Data suggests passage of CEJA will spur even greater job growth CHICAGO – According to the E2 Clean Jobs America 2022 report released yesterday, Illinois currently ranks 5th in the country with 119,853 clean energy jobs in 2021, a 4.9% increase over 2020 despite last year’s “solar cliff,” when state funding and incentives for rooftop and other solar installations dried…

Lincoln Land Energy Center will be dirty and expensive for Central Illinois families PAWNEE, IL – Today, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) issued an operating permit to EmberClear, a Texas-based company that went bankrupt in 2016, to build a new methane gas plant in Pawnee, Illinois. The permit will allow the Lincoln Land Energy Center, which…

CHICAGO – On Monday, Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition (ICJC) released the following statement after the MISO board meeting: “Today’s action to increase grid reliability and integrate more renewable energy and battery storage in MISO North is a desperately-needed positive step, but MISO must act faster to speed the conversion from dirty, expensive fossil fuels to clean, less…

34 renewable projects capable of powering 4.5 million homes sit in MISO’s queue while the grid operator blames others, spreads fear. CHICAGO – On Thursday, Illinois legislative leaders and consumer advocates sharply criticized the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), the multi-state entity that manages the generation and transmission of electricity across Central and Southern Illinois for…