Pritzker Signs Energy Bill
Senate President Don Harmon and House Speaker Chris Welch hold the new energy law after Governor JB Pritzker signed it Wednesday morning in Chicago. (Photo credit: Chicago Sun-Times)
Governor JB Pritzker wasted no time signing a new energy package into law.
From Rachel Hinton of the Chicago Sun-Times:
“There is no time to lose but what we can do, what we must do — and thanks to the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act — Illinois is doing, is to fight to stop, and even reverse, the damage that’s been done to our climate. As of today, Illinois is a force for good, for an environmental future we can be proud of.”
House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said, “Today is for our children, today is for our children’s children” and said Illinois residents “win big today.”
State Rep. David Welter, R-Morris, and state Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, were the only Republicans to speak at the event. Welter, whose district is home to half of the state’s nuclear fleet, said Democrats and Republicans care about a cleaner energy future though they have “a different view of how we get there and when we get there.”
“I feel this bill, although not perfect, was a compilation of a lot of work and a lot of time, a lot of effort to try to get us as close as possible,” Welter said.
The legislation sets the state on a path to 100% clean energy by 2050 through a mix of providing subsidies to nuclear plants and setting closure timelines for coal and natural gas firing facilities among other things.
It provides nearly $700 million over five years to Exelon nuclear plants and requires municipal coal firing plants — such as Prairie State and Springfield’s City Water, Light and Power — to cut their emissions by 45% by 2035 before closing 10 years later unless they can generate green hydrogen or use similar technology to get to zero carbon emissions.
