Decades of clean-energy policies and the current renewable energy market have propelled Illinois to the forefront of states relying on environmentally friendly energy sources.
Illinois ranks second in the Midwest for installed renewable power capacity and fourth in the nation for installed wind power capacity, according to the Illinois Environmental Council.
And during a recent webinar about the evolution of the energy marketplace in Illinois, Brad Klein, senior attorney for the Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC), credited competitive renewable energy generation prices and Illinois’ Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) as bolstering demand in the state for renewable energy, according to a recent article in RTO Insider.
Establishing renewable goals and creating solar programs, FEJA has been one of the main forces behind Illinois’ push for greater renewable energy use. FEJA will also increase solar capacity in Illinois from its current 84 MW to 2.8 GW by 2022, according to ELPC. The state’s wind portfolio will also increase from 1.3 GW to 4.3 GW during the next four years.
As part of the renewable energy trend, Klein also hopes municipal aggregation programs may also see growth.
Good Energy has also worked extensively in Illinois to enable communities to purchase renewable power. Among states with community energy aggregation legislation, Illinois has the greatest number of communities using renewables.
Illinois residents are on the cutting edge of renewable energy use and community energy aggregation, and if your community is interested in lower rates for electricity or renewable energy, visit Good Energy or call 866-955-2677.