Broad Consensus Around Bill to Shut Down Fossil Fuels and Expand Clean Energy to Illinois by 2045
Illinois’ House of Representatives to Vote on SB 2408 as Environmental, Labor, Consumer Advocate and Grassroots Groups back the Bill
SPRINGFIELD, IL -- Illinois’ House of Representatives is set to vote on SB 2408, a bill that would shut down coal and other fossil fuel plants and replace them with renewable energy by 2045 while creating equitable economic opportunities across the state.
Illinois is poised to become the first state in the Midwest to shut down all fossil fuel plants by 2045, or sooner, and the first state in the country to pass comprehensive clean energy legislation with hundreds of millions of dollars to support training, and workers and small businesses in disadvantaged communities. The bill would also add significant provisions to make the state’s utilities more accountable to Illinoisans, and grow renewable energy in the state more than five-fold, with 40 percent of the state’s power coming from wind and solar in 2030 and 50 percent in 2040.
The House added a provision to reduce the emissions of municipally owned coal plants like Dallman and Prairie State by 45 percent, with all other coal plants shuttering by 2030. Coal plants in environmental justice communities would be the first to close under the legislation.
The following is a quote from JC Kibbey, NRDC’s (Natural Resources Defense Council) Illinois Clean Energy Advocate:
“The climate crisis is global and our efforts here in Illinois can be a strong signal that starts to turn the tide.
“Illinois will close all our dirty fossil fuel plants by 2045 and massively expand renewable energy. This will create good-paying jobs, clean up our air, and forge a path for action that can be a model for other Midwest states as we hustle to protect our state and our planet from catastrophic climate change. This bill is the first in the country that invests this level of resources through the clean energy economy in the communities that need them the most.”
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.