As the folly of Illinois’ new energy law becomes evident, a ray of hope breaks through – Wirepoints

By: Mark Glennon*

Illinois last year passed what one of its sponsors, Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), called “the most aggressive, most progressive climate bill in the nation.” It’s the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act known as CEJA. Meeting its goals will be monstrously expensive and exceptionally difficult, if not impossible. With energy costs soaring, much of the world is reconsidering energy policies. This week we got a tiny ray of hope that Illinois might start doing the same.

It came from Rep. Mark Walker (D-Arlington Heights), who is sponsoring a bill that would end Illinois’ moratorium on nuclear power development. He is particularly interested in letting energy consumers install smaller nuclear reactors, also called microreactors.

But it’s this comment he made that’s important:

The problem I’m having is that I’m not sure we have the technology to maintain a baseline of energy that we need for our industry and homes when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow; and the battery technology that people are looking at for Elon Musk or someone to invent, I’m not going to bank on that. 

Obvious as that may seem, it’s heresy for Illinois’ political establishment, which has bet the ranch on renewable energy – primarily solar and wind. Under CEJA, Illinois will have 50% of its electricity production from renewable sources by 2040 and 100% from clean energy sources by 2050. Reaching those goals under CEJA will be exceptionally difficult and expensive.

Today, however, Illinois generates only about 11% of its electricity from renewables. Nuclear generates 58%, coal 18% and natural gas 14%. While nuclear would still be permissible under CEJA’s definition of “clean energy,” Illinois has a separate moratorium banning new nukes. CEJA’s goals are therefore exceptionally ambitious. The moratorium on nuclear power puts Illinois at odds even with the Biden Administration, which has said that nuclear reactors will be “absolutely essential” for the U.S. to achieve its goal of a net-zero carbon economy by 2050.

Walker’s specific idea about small nuclear reactors is interesting in itself. Also called “microreactors,” they are still under development but getting lots of attention worldwide. No larger than a truck, they are expected to be ultra-safe and efficient. A good summary of their status is here.

But the point here is not to make a case for microreactors in particular. Instead, it’s the broader point reflected in Walker’s comment that is important: Extreme reliance on renewable sources is a risky bet, and with energy prices already crushing consumers and businesses, we need to reconsider the war against nuclear power and fossil fuels, particularly comparatively clean, cheap sources like natural gas.

Renewable energy sources are part of the solution to oil price shocks like we are now experiencing. But the problem is that we’ve subordinated the goal of making them cost competitive. Instead, the entire goal of CEJA is to force Illinois into using renewable sources that are more expensive than alternatives. CEJA represents a mandate to use more expensive renewable sources.

Adding to the cost, Illinois used CEJA as a vehicle for converting the energy sector into a huge social justice program. In CEJA’s 956 pages, “equity” appears 114 times and “environmental justice” appears 86 times. The law is loaded with items like these:

• The creation of a “green bank” to provide seed money to help black and brown contractors who may otherwise have a hard time raising capital.

• Support for helping formerly incarcerated individuals to enter the clean energy sector.

• Reporting requirements to make sure the intended diversity goals are met; Illinois will beef up the renewables industry through financial incentives, but only contractors that meet diversity thresholds will be able to access them.

• $80 million a year paid by ratepayers on development programs for individuals from “equity-focused communities” with 13 hubs around the state.

• A $4,000 subsidy on purchase of an electric car and rebates of up to $9,000 for solar panel installation.

The total cost of CEJA has been estimated at more than $800 million annually plus another $1.2 billion in higher rates. Estimates, however, vary widely, and nobody truly knows the full cost.

“Even some of the core people behind the environmental justice parts of the legislation…seemed shocked by how much they had achieved” under CEJA, wrote the Chicago Sun-Times. “No one believed in Illinois we would actually pass legislation that can stop oil and gas facilities from running forever,” says Juliana Pino, policy director of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization.

“The upshot here is that you can’t spend enough on climate initiatives to fix things if you ignore nuclear and gas,” wrote Bari Weiss on Substack recently. She cited Germany’s experience: “Between 2015 and 2025, Germany’s efforts to green its energy production will have cost $580 billion. Yet despite this enormous investment, German electricity still costs 50 percent more than nuclear-friendly France’s, and generating it produces eight times more carbon emissions per unit. Plus, Germany is getting over a third of its energy from Russia.”

But with the new energy price shock, Germany and other green European nations have changed course. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, “Germany’s government is stockpiling coal and expediting terminals for liquefied natural gas. Europe is working to get more gas through pipelines from Norway and Azerbaijan. Poland plans new nuclear plants. The U.K. may restart onshore fracking and ramp up North Sea drilling. Norway plans to expand Arctic exploration.”

Closer to home, California provides another lesson. It is now the most energy efficient state, as described in a recent Spiked column, as well as the state with the highest poverty rate in America. “Twenty per cent of Californians live in poverty, and a growing number of academics have been tying that poverty to the cost of living – including to the cost of energy. Since 2011 the cost of electricity in California has increased five times as fast as the rest of the US.”

Voters have gotten fed up with overly green energy policies. According to RealClear 80% of voters, including 80% of Democrats, say America’s energy future must include a mix of renewables and natural gas. Seventy-four percent of those surveyed believe the government should prioritize reliability and affordability with a gradual shift to clean energy, versus 22% who prefer an energy policy like the Green New Deal which, like CEJA, targets 100% renewable energy. Only 2% of Americans say the environment and climate is their top concern, according to Gallup.

It’s no wonder that the public has had enough. For the working class, energy costs have become catastrophic. Let’s hope Illinois reexamines CEJA and the rest of its energy policy and starts emphasizing low cost. Renewable energy sources have their place, but delusional goals for them do not.

*Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints.