UPDATES

Blake Haas | WJBC NORMAL – As the summer heats up, residents in Bloomington-Normal can catch some rays at a discounted price. For homeowners, farmers, or business owners soaking up the sun has never been easier in the Twin Cities. Solar Bloomington-Normal achieved its first benchmark program since it was founded in 2016, triggering a…

Gary L. Smith | The Peoria Journal Star LACON — Marshall County has become something of a hotbed of the 2-megawatt “community solar” projects that are a staple of the state’s emerging solar industry, and three are scheduled for public hearings this week before the Zoning Board of Appeals. Highland Park-based Trajectory Energy Partners LLC,…

Rebecca Susmarski | The Register-Mail GALESBURG — Area wind farms brought in many jobs during their construction phases, but not as many jobs remained after the projects’ completion. Invenergy LLC’s Bishop Hill I and Bishop Hill III wind farms in Henry County provided approximately 220 and 214 jobs, respectively, at the pinnacle of each project’s…

CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition (ICJC) announced Monday the launch of a new statewide effort aimed at encouraging Illinois to embrace renewable energy and carbon-free power. The initiative is called “Listen. Lead. Share. A conversation about winning a clean, equitable energy future.” ICJC members said their policy goals include: Ensuring equitable benefits across the state; Moving Illinois…

Members of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition listed several sweeping and long-term goals Joined by U.S. Congress members Rep. Mike Quigley and Rep. Robin Kelly, members of the ICJC listed several sweeping and long-term goals at an event on Chicago’s Near West Side, including pushing Illinois to use 100% renewable energy by 2050, realizing a…

That all changed a year ago — “dramatically,” Hawksworth said — with the enactment of the Future Energy Jobs Act and an overhauled incentive system that promises as much as $15 billion in investments for renewable energy in Illinois by 2030. Solar panels at Germantown Grill “It basically created a sustainable future for our business…

PEORIA — An energy efficiency plan proposed by the dominant downstate power provider fails to meet key goals of state legislation crafted to conserve resources and create jobs, according to critics of the proposal. But Ameren Illinois claims it is on track to achieve necessary long-term energy savings while improving efficiency for low- and moderate-income…

Is one of the best new energy laws in the nation really about to unravel this quickly? Last December, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the Future Energy Jobs Act. Hammered out over more than two years and supported by a wide variety of usually feuding interest groups, the law enhances conservation and renewable energy, preserves nuclear…

Members of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition say Ameren Illinois isn’t doing enough to reduce energy demand in its service territory. The coalition said Ameren’s recent energy efficiency plan filed with the Illinois Commerce Commission does not meet goals set out in the Future Energy Jobs Act, which went into effect in June. The law…

Illinois State Representative Elaine Nekritz, D-Buffalo Grove, said the Future Energy Jobs Act is supposed to bring more jobs to the state while also cutting down on energy costs. Negotiations in the law made Ameren’s efficiency goal lower than other energy providers. Ameren is supposed to reduce energy waste by 16 percent by 2030. “The…