Energy policy likely to be revisited in spring legislative session.
Lawmakers this week passed a bill aimed at boosting the development of renewable energy generation, but its proponents said the final measure was a “skinny” version of what they had hoped to pass.
“We’ve seen the effects of climate change. We’ve seen the effects on storms, extreme storms, extreme heat, extreme cold,” Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, said during floor debate. “This is something we must do. We must move from fossil fuel, which emits carbon into the atmosphere, to renewable energy. This bill has a few small changes that will help us get renewable energy on the grid.”
The measure passed in the Senate 39-16 on Monday, with the House passing it the next day 74-39. It will next head to the governor’s desk for final approval before becoming law.
The bill passed Tuesday is also notable for what it didn’t include. In addition to cutting out much of the battery storage policy, the final bill didn’t include a set of provisions dealing with energy efficiency programs. That portion of the bill would have updated the state’s requirements for solar energy rebates and provided subsidies for consumers who buy efficient appliances.
Those provisions were cut after the governor’s office “raised some concerns,” according to Cunningham.
Those portions of the bill were backed by the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, an influential group of environmental organizations that includes the Illinois Environmental Council.
“The bill that we’re going to see is not doing much,” IEC’s Executive Director Jen Walling said Monday morning, after the bill was finalized but before it passed.
The IEC, and the Clean Jobs Coalition more broadly, didn’t endorse the bill, taking a neutral stance. Kady McFadden, a lobbyist speaking on behalf of ICJC, said she was “disappointed” by the final bill, noting the elements that were cut out or pared down.
Walling and others expressed a desire for broader legislation in the spring.
“We’re setting up for a really big year for climate legislation,” Walling said.
The IEC and ICJC brought hundreds of people to the Capitol Tuesday to advocate for other climate- and energy-related bills, including bills limiting the use of natural gas for heating buildings and reforming the transit systems in the Chicago area.
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