Lawmakers this week passed a bill aimed at boosting the development of renewable energy generation – Daily Herald

Lawmakers give small boost to renewable developments, delay broader reform

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.

The bill comes as several state officials warn that Illinois is falling behind on its clean energy goals. The state’s main funding mechanism for renewable energy projects also faces a potential $3 billion budget shortfall in the coming years.

The legislation gives state regulators more authority to balance the budget for a key renewable energy financing tool, partially by shifting financial risk to electric utility customers. It also sets up a study of energy storage technology that is intended to form the basis of a new bill later this year.

“We’ve seen the effects of climate change. We’ve seen the effects on storms, extreme storms, extreme heat, extreme cold,” Rep. Robyn Gabel, an Evanston Democrat, 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 makes several changes to how the state funds renewable energy developments. Sen. Bill Cunningham, a Chicago Democrat, described these as “highly technical.”

Existing law requires the state to purchase a certain amount of electricity from renewable sources. The Illinois Power Agency purchases this electricity using a system of financial instruments such as “renewable energy credits.” These are tracked and budgeted using the state’s renewable portfolio standard, or RPS.

But the IPA has struggled to find developers for some of these projects – particularly wind farms. One of the driving concerns that developers cite is whether the budget for the RPS, which is funded by a monthly charge to utility customers, is sufficient to fund renewable energy contracts approved by the agency.

The bill would guarantee that projects approved under the RPS will be funded in case of unexpected spikes in prices by allowing utility companies to charge consumers for the costs of any budget shortfall.

Gabel said during debate Tuesday that she doesn’t expect the policy to lead to rate increases and that even if utilities needed to recover money from customers, it would only be a temporary increase. But Republicans were skeptical of transferring risk to ratepayers.

“All we’re doing here to add security to these failing projects is to transfer, to put the burden on taxpayers, on ratepayers, one way or another to make sure the creditors are going to get paid,” Rep. Brad Halbrook, a Shelbyville Republican, said during debate last week.

The bill also requires the Illinois Commerce Commission to host a series of workshops exploring battery-based energy storage. Renewable energy advocates increasingly are looking to the nascent technology as a way to make wind and solar power more reliable.

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, which were backed by the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, were cut after the governor’s office “raised some concerns,” according to Cunningham.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

   • Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
   • Indicator 7.2.1: Renewable energy share in the total final energy consumption

2. SDG 13: Climate Action

   • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning
   • Indicator 13.2.1: Number of countries that have integrated mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning into their national policies, strategies, and planning

Analysis

The article discusses a bill passed by lawmakers in Illinois aimed at boosting the development of renewable energy generation. This aligns with SDG 7, which focuses on affordable and clean energy. The specific target under SDG 7 that can be identified based on the article’s content is Target 7.2, which aims to increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. The article mentions that the bill makes changes to how the state funds renewable energy developments and guarantees funding for projects approved under the renewable portfolio standard (RPS). This indicates a commitment to increasing the share of renewable energy in the state’s energy mix.

Additionally, the article mentions the effects of climate change and the need to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. This connects to SDG 13, which focuses on climate action. The specific target under SDG 13 that can be identified based on the article’s content is Target 13.2, which aims to integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning. The article mentions that the bill includes a study of energy storage technology, which is intended to form the basis of a new bill later this year. This indicates an effort to integrate climate change measures, specifically energy storage technology, into the state’s policies and planning.

The article does not explicitly mention any indicators that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets. However, Indicator 7.2.1, which measures the renewable energy share in the total final energy consumption, can be used to track progress towards increasing the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. Indicator 13.2.1, which measures the number of countries that have integrated mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning into their national policies, strategies, and planning, can be used to track progress towards integrating climate change measures into national policies and planning.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: dailyherald.com