The Illinois Senate adjourned last week without calling for a vote on the state’s controversial green energy proposal. The proposed energy package includes plenty for Illinois’ special interest groups: a fully-green state by 2050, shut-down dates for coal and natural gas plants, hundreds of millions in subsidies for Exelon’s nuclear plants, new funding for energy construction and infrastructure, tax subsidies for electric cars, and more.
The biggest group left out of the deal-making? Ordinary Illinoisans. They’re the ones on the hook for the inevitable rate hikes and future tax increases to pay for all the giveaways – not to mention the potential risks inherent in transforming Illinois energy to fully renewable.
The package has stalled largely due to differences between two of the left’s powerful interest groups: labor unions and the green lobby. Environmentalists want rapid shutdowns of the state’s coal and natural gas plants while labor wants those plants kept open for as long as possible to preserve union jobs. That issue hadn’t been ironed out by the time the Senate left Springfield.
Despite months of negotiations and weeks of debate, nobody has yet explained to ordinary residents the true cost of the green subsidies in the bill. Nor the true costs for Exelon to properly maintain Illinois’ nuclear power facilities. Nor the true, net impact on jobs from all the changes. Nor how the state will move from its current 8 percent in clean-energy generation to 40 percent in just nine years – or to 100 percent in 29 years.
That last point raises other concerning questions: Will Illinois be forced to buy energy from nearby states at exorbitant costs because it can’t produce enough in the future? Will the state experience power outages?
Champions of the energy package don't seem to care about the answers to those questions. Instead, they are more focused on balancing the competing demands of the labor unions, environmentalists, the equity movement and big business:
- The green lobby wants the deal because it phases out coal by 2035 and natural gas by 2045. The package calls for 40% renewables by 2030 and 100% by 2050. (Never mind that renewables make up less than 10 percent of all production today and there’s no clear plan on how to make the transition to 100 percent clean. Compounding the problem, much of Illinois’ nuclear capacity – more than 50 percent of the state’s energy production – will decline over the next few decades.)
- The green lobby is also pushing for the bill because it specifically calls for the gradual phasing out of two major coal plants, Prairie State in Marissa and CWLP in Springfield, by 2035.
- Labor groups, in contrast, want coal power to remain online through 2045 to protect jobs. The governor’s compromise with them allows that, as long as carbon-capture technology can meet the demand for lower emissions.
- Labor groups want the bill because it requires for much of the conversion to green to be paid for with prevailing wages (union wages) for new infrastructure projects.
- Exelon supports the deal because it calls for $694 million in higher subsidies to keep three of the company’s Illinois nuclear plants afloat. The previous energy deal in 2016 under Madigan bailed out two other Exelon nuke facilities.
- Labor groups also want Illinois’ nuclear plants bailed out because it will mean thousands of jobs saved.
- Equity advocates approve of the bill due to significant equity-focused provisions regarding energy jobs and investments.
- Green energy providers and manufacturers support the bill because they get subsidies from ratepayers totaling $215 million.
- The auto industry supports the bill because it includes an up-to-$4,000 subsidy for electric vehicle purchases.
- Big-government supporters back this bill because it provides for a future collection of new programs, commissions, task forces and spending.
A better plan would be for lawmakers to actually engage with those most impacted by any energy changes – residents and businesses. A coalition of business organizations recently demanded just that.