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"Energy efficiency not only provides electric bill relief for
Illinois customers, but as the bill savings compound, our
environment gets cleaner and cleaner," said Rebecca Stanfield,
director of Environment Illinois. "Combined with the state's first
renewable energy standard, this bill represents a major step toward
a smarter, cleaner energy future." The bill requires that a
quarter of the power procured for Illinois customers will be
generated from clean, renewable energy by 2025. Illinois becomes the
22nd state to have goals for energy efficiency, according to the
Union of Concerned Scientists. Only two states, Maine and Minnesota,
have higher goals. The energy efficiency program ramps up to a
target of reducing the load by 2 percent a year by requiring
utilities to provide customers with assistance to reduce their
energy needs through more efficient appliances, weatherizing their
homes and businesses, and other measures.
The Illinois Senate unanimously passed these renewable energy and
efficiency provisions earlier this session as the Affordable, Clean
Energy Standards Act,
Senate Bill 1184, championed by state Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak
Park.
"We are very grateful to Senator Harmon for tirelessly working to
advance the cause of clean energy, and to Attorney General Madigan,
Senate President Jones and Speaker Madigan for supporting clean
energy during the rate negotiations," said Jonathan Goldman,
executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council. "It's long
past time that we embraced our homegrown clean energy resources to
build a 21st-century electric system for Illinois."
The energy efficiency and renewable energy provisions of the
legislation would lower the amount of traditional electricity
generation necessary to meet consumer load in Illinois by about 24
percent, saving consumers roughly $2 billion per year by 2020. The
renewable energy standard could reduce global warming emissions by
as much as 15.8 million metric tons per year, while the efficiency
standards would reduce global warming emissions by as much as 37
million metric tons per year.
"While a rebate on electricity rates is always nice, these
programs will provide much more significant and lasting benefits to
consumers, while helping us ... curb our contribution to the crisis of
global warming," said Alecia Ward, president of the Midwest Energy
Efficiency Alliance.
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"The bill will also help to prioritize reducing peak power use,
which is the most expensive electricity," said Anthony Star of the
Community Energy Cooperative. "This will have a big impact on
consumers' electric bills."
In an era of increasing electric rates, energy efficiency is the
only way to reduce customers' bills over the long term. Renewable
energy resources will also allow the utilities to lock in stable
prices for the electricity purchased from the sources.
"With the promise of a market for their electricity, producers of
renewable energy can decide to expand with the confidence that their
investments can pay off. That leads to new and better renewable
infrastructure here in Illinois, and that's a great benefit for our
state," said Barry Matchett of the Environmental Law and Policy
Center.
However, the state's leading environmental organizations also
expressed concern that the bill allows the state of Illinois to
build a new coal-fired power plant that will create new global
warming emissions. The power plant would not be required to use
technology to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions, posing the
threat that this plant could offset the environmental benefits of
the renewable energy and energy efficiency measures.
"In this day and age, to build a new coal plant without dealing
with the carbon dioxide emission would be an almost unimaginable
step backward," said Goldman. "We are going to work to make sure
that the state does not make such a foolish decision as to move
forward with the escape clause that this provision allows."
[Text from file received from
Environment Illinois]
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