By Chicago Tribune:
Regarding the editorial “Owner of massive Elwood Energy plant isn’t waiting for Illinois closure deadlines. They’re literally moving the plant to Texas” (April 17): Amid news that Hull Street Energy planned to load six gas turbines onto flatbeds and drive them to Texas, clean energy detractors were quick to point to the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) as responsible. That’s false. In fact, the Elwood gas plant is a perfect case study in the dire need to replace aging, expensive fossil fuel plants with reliable and cost-effective energy resources like solar, wind and battery storage.
Over the past seven years, Elwood has hardly operated. It runs less than 5% of the time and, when running, costs $75 per megawatt-hour, or five times the price of energy from new solar generation. Elwood is also unreliable. During Winter Storm Elliott, Elwood was one of eight gas plants in Illinois that failed to perform when called upon by PJM and was subject to “nonperformance” financial penalties. With high operating costs and poor performance, it’s not surprising that J-Power announced that it would close the plant in 2025, well before the 2030 CEJA deadline.
Then, Hull Street Energy found a loophole and made a short-sighted investment deal. It is now scrapping the plant for parts. Texas is willing to take the nearly 30-year-old turbines because there’s currently a five- to seven-year wait to purchase new gas turbines. Texas (and its deregulated energy market) is effectively ending up with our polluting rubble because of supply chain issues.
Meanwhile, the real culprit of our skyrocketing energy bills is moving in next door to the Elwood gas plant. Two out-of-state corporations, Hillwood Investment Properties and PowerHouse Data Centers, have proposed building the “Joliet Technology Center” — a 1.8-gigawatt data center that will sit on 795 acres next to Elwood. Data centers like these are creating a new energy era, driving unprecedented electricity demand. Instead of throwing in the towel on our CEJA goals, we have more reason than ever to double down on producing cheaper clean energy and ensure data centers don’t drive up energy costs while polluting our communities.
Until data center developers are required to bring their own clean energy and capacity resources and are held accountable for their outsized impact on the grid, the strain on our power grid will be untenable. It’s time to pass the POWER Act (SB4016/HB5513) and ensure the new energy era builds on CEJA, delivering a clean energy future for Illinois communities, consumers, businesses and even data centers.
— Jen Walling, CEO, Illinois Environmental Council