With the fight over a federal clean energy funding freeze entering its second month, two of the biggest prizes in Illinois are emissions-reduction grants totaling more than $570 million. Now, the state appears closer to claiming both of them.
In Illinois, which aims for 100% clean energy by 2050, the effects of the clean energy funding freeze have been felt by small nonprofits as well as major state agencies.
“I think right now the summary is chaos and uncertainty, which is not something you want to see with these programs,” said Jen Walling, the Illinois Environmental Council’s executive director.
Walling, whose organization is tracking the effects of the freeze, said that some nonprofits that expected federal clean energy grants either don’t know if they’ll get them or have heard of “some sort of cancellation.”
“I can’t give details, but I definitely know that nonprofits have already started to look at — or started to perform — layoffs, based on federal funding maybe not being available in the future,” she said.
Walling is more optimistic about the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants, which were announced in July.
“I think that money is pretty well locked up and after some discussion, it’s going to go where it needs to go and it’s going to get paid out,” Walling said.
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