 The result could be thousands of lost jobs for Illinois, according
to a coalition of pro-renewable energy groups.Last year, the U.S.
House of Representatives passed federal legislation that would
impose nationwide renewable energy benchmarks, market-imposed caps
on emissions and greater investment in new technologies such as
clean coal.
But the U.S. Senate has stalled on the legislative package, and a
consortium of energy and business groups are claiming that inaction
could cost the nation for years to come.
A report jointly released by the consortium indicated that the
nation could lose out on 1.9 million jobs over the next decade.
Of those lost jobs, 600,000 could originate in 10 states with
unemployment rates exceeding 10 percent, including Illinois, which
stands to lose 68,000 jobs over that period.
Climate change and renewable energy became headline issues in the
aftermath of the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but progress on
sweeping energy federal legislation has been put on hold.
Tim Greeff, policy director for the national consortium Clean
Economy Network, said that with November's elections approaching,
the energy debate has been hijacked by politics.
"I certainly don't see this as a Democrat versus Republican
issue. These issues don't become partisan until they get to
(Washington) D.C. And that's why it's really so unfortunate that it
has gotten caught up in the partisan bickering," Greeff said.
Instead, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said
the Senate will spend its fall session working on a sweeping
legislative proposal focused on tax cuts and incentives for small
businesses and entrepreneurs.
Chris Van Atten, a spokesman for American Businesses for Clean
Energy, said that development of renewable energy sources and job
creation go hand in hand.
"Clean coal technology is one that holds promise for job creation
in the Midwest region. It may be renewable energy strategies in
different parts of the country. But there are certainly
opportunities available," he said.
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The American Petroleum Institute claims that the energy
legislation passed by the U.S. House threatens the nation's and
Illinois' economies.
"The climate change bill under consideration by Congress ignores
the impacts on everyone who uses or produces petroleum fuels like
gasoline, diesel and natural gas. So it will hit both households and
businesses hard -- everyone who uses cars, trucks, planes, trains
and tractors or the thousands of products produced or transported
using these fuels," the API said in a statement.
The U.S. Department of Energy has already targeted Illinois as a
major source of carbon retention and storage, a new method of
burning coal that would reduce greenhouse emissions.
Last month, the DOE pledged to commit $1 billion to retrofit an
oil-fired power plant in the western Illinois town of Meredosia in
what has become the most recent iteration of the FutureGen project.
Earlier this month, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., was in the
central Illinois town of Taylorville to discuss another proposed
clean coal project, the Taylorville Energy Plant.
Durbin outlined his support of efforts for domestically produced
energy with the Taylorville plant and FutureGen, though efforts to
move forward on both projects have frequently stalled.
"If you look at the potential for job creation, for providing
clean domestic energy and for positioning our state as a world
leader in clean energy production -- these are truly opportunities
Illinois cannot afford to miss," he said.
But Greeff said Congress will likely wait until after November's
elections before engaging in groundbreaking energy debates.
"It has become an issue that the Democrats and Republicans are
trying to stake out positions on instead of moving forward and
finding the common ground that's actually good for American
business," he said.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By KEVIN LEE]
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