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PI Original
by Adam Doster
1:22pm
Tue Apr 13, 2010
54 comments

Chicago Aldermen Step Up Coal Fight (VIDEO)

Energy

Clean air advocates and some progressive members of the Chicago City Council aren't waiting any longer for two coal-fired power plants to clean up their act.

Quick Hit
by Josh Kalven
9:12am
Mon Apr 12, 2010

The Jacobs Connection

In the past month, we've been keeping an eye on the Illinois Senate Energy Committee, noting how a bill that would expand wind energy production in Illinois has been stalled while legislation favored by energy giants such as Exelon has advanced.  One disconcerting aspect of this dynamic is that the committee's chairman, Sen. Mike Jacobs (D-Moline), is the son of former legislator Denny Jacobs -- now a registered lobbyist for ComEd (whose parent company is none other that Exelon).  On Friday, Capitol Fax expressed some concern about that arrangement as well:

Part of the problem here is the way this bill is being lobbied. Sen. Jacobs’ father, former state Sen. Denny Jacobs, lobbies for ComEd. These two guys really need to be careful about this stuff, particularly with the feds nosing around the building.

In other wind-related news, Evanston is considering a plan to install wind turbines in Lake Michigan, about six miles off the city's shore.  (Learn more about the offshore wind power debate here.)  And Aurora is building two wind turbines intended to power several traffic lights in the town.

PI Original
by Angela Caputo
3:34pm
Tue Mar 30, 2010
8 comments

Exelon Attempts To Block Spread Of Wind Power

Energy

Energy industry lobbyists, worried about corporate profits, are engaged in a behind-the-scenes effort to block wind power legislation in Springfield.

Quick Hit
by Angela Caputo
12:01pm
Wed Mar 24, 2010
1 comment

Some Green News Out Of Springfield

This week, there is some good -- and green -- news trickling out of Springfield. In the race to move legislation forward, lawmakers appear to be making progress on a series of bills aimed at promoting both renewable resources and energy efficiency. One proposal that we've been keeping our eye on is State Rep. Fred Crespo's (D-Streamwood) HB 6419, which would give school districts authority set up a cooperative wind farm and sell their excess power to utility companies for a profit. A House committee is poised today to advance the measure to the floor for a vote.

Speaking of renewable resources, a proposal to make harvesting rainwater for non-potable uses like flushing toilets has sailed through the House and is now being entertained by the Senate. Also, Sen. Don Harmon's (D-Oak Park) efforts to require utilities to incorporate more solar energy into their portfolios managed to survive some recent shenanigans on the Senate Energy Committee. The deadline for SB3686 has been extended until April 15. Stay tuned.

Quick Hit
by Angela Caputo
2:16pm
Mon Mar 22, 2010

Tire Burning As Renewable Energy?

State Rep. Karen May (D-Highland Park) summed it up best, calling a statehouse proposal to include toxic tire burning in Illinois' definition of renewable energy a head scratcher. But as the Tribune reported yesterday, that's exactly what her colleague Rep. David Miller (D-Dolton) is attempting to do. The Democratic Comptroller nominee introduced a bill (HB 1470) this session that would clear the way for the operator of a pollution-heavy incinerator in an impoverished corner of his district to pull in green energy credits.

After some intense lobbying from environmental groups, Miller has taken his name off the bill. Still, the legislation cleared a House committee last week. "This is the sort of cynical legislative maneuvering that makes people question the credibility of our elected officials," Howard Learner, president of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, told the Tribune. "Burning tires is not clean, renewable energy by any credible definition." That's a point that will be hard for any lawmaker to argue against.