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According to the nonprofit wind energy advocacy group Wind on the Wires, there are thousands of megawatts of shovel-ready wind energy projects in Illinois that represent over $4.7 billion in potential investment in our state. They’ve leased land, lined up their permits, and applied to connect to the grid. What’s the holdup? A crucial update to Illinois’ Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS).

The Green River wind farm near Walnut, Illinois is one example. Mainstream Renewable Power leased 12,000 acres of land and lined up their siting, transmission and environmental approvals.

But here’s where Mainstream hit a snag: our energy market has changed since our RPS was enacted in 2007, creating a real challenge to projects like Green River which are trying to sell the power from their turbines and bring these benefits to the Illinois economy:

• About 200-400 construction jobs
• 5-10 full-time operations jobs
• Approximately $1.4 million annually in property tax revenues to Lee County alone

And its not just about wind - solar is poised to skyrocket if we free up the Renewable Energy Resources Fund to invest in Illinois projects, as originally intended.

The Green River project and many others can move forward if we take action and update the RPS to create a more stable, transparent clean energy market. We all win when Illinois moves to clean energy, and we can do it without touching the existing cost cap that protects consumers.

It’s time to update the RPS.
www.ILikeCleanEnergy.org