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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…

Lesley McCain | The News-Gazette Solar energy is a bright spot in Illinois’ economy, rapidly creating jobs across the state. And we’re just getting started. Solar businesses, unlike those in many other industries, are rushing to Illinois to set up shop. These companies are attracted by falling equipment costs and a stable state policy that…

Julia Pyper | Green Tech Media A new report documents the democratization of renewables, energy storage and electric vehicles in America. Last year, the U.S. produced a record amount of solar power, generating 39 times more solar power than a decade ago. In 2008, solar produced 0.05 percent of electricity in the U.S. But by…