It is not a good idea to go this route if you are looking to create construction jobs or provide returns for investors.
It is imperative to convert to renewable energy sources. Every day, we see signs of climate change causing havoc. We are seeing record-setting temperatures and historic floods. Many of these are due to fossil fuels that release greenhouse gases and heat the planet.
The Lincoln Land Energy Center is a gas-fired plant located near downstate Pawnee, Sangamon County. It is about 13 miles from Springfield. Plans are moving forward. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is currently considering a draft permit, which is a bitter pill to swallow by environmentalists who negotiated Illinois’ clean energy law.
Two other gas plants were approved by Bruce Rauner’s administration and will soon be operational downstate near Elwood, and Morris.
Lincoln Land Energy Center, by itself, will emit more carbon dioxide per vehicle than 800,000. According to the Chicago Tribune, the three new gas-fired plants will emit more carbon dioxide than the four coal-fired plants that were shut down last year. This is a wrong direction for Illinois. This route is not conducive to creating construction jobs or generating returns for investors.
It is clearly not in line with what the nation and state should be doing by building new gas plants. Last week, President Joe Biden signed clean energy provisions by U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) that require 10% of all military installations to achieve net zero emissions by 2035.
Renewable energy must be our ultimate source of power.
Gas plants not only burn fossil fuels but also leak methane from the natural gas grid into the atmosphere. Although methane doesn’t linger in the upper air as long as carbon dioxide does, it is a powerful greenhouse gas. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, methane’s relative impact over a 100 year period is 25 times more than that of carbon dioxide.
The Illinois new green energy law was signed by Gov. The state encourages people and businesses to purchase electric vehicles as part of the Illinois new green energy law, which Gov. To meet clean energy goals, buildings will need to convert to electric heating and replace gas-powered appliances. But these benefits can only be realized if the ultimate source of power is not from natural gas but renewable wind, water, or solar energy.
Partly, the Legislature’s long delay in passing new clean energy legislation has resulted in the construction of new gas plants. Nobody knew if the climate law would allow nuclear power plants that are now economically threatened to remain open, or if subsidies would be available for green energy facilities. The delay also missed an opportunity to lower consumers’ power bills.
The last gas-fired plants that are being built in Illinois will probably be the latest. Investors need to be able to make a profit for the plants to last at least 20 years. In addition, the clean energy law sets a goal to have 100% clean electricity in the power grid by 2045. However, new fossil fuel-burning plants make it more difficult to delay clean energy deadlines in the future. It becomes more difficult to imagine people doing what they won’t do today if the Earth’s temperature rises below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The landmark achievement of enacting Illinois clean-energy legislation was significant. To avoid the worst effects of climate change, it will take the full participation of individuals, businesses, and all levels government.
As Biden’s major climate projects in his Build back Better legislation remain unfinished in Congress, it is crucial that everyone else adheres to the spirit and letter of Illinois law.