The special interest smorgasbord inside Illinois lawmakers’ 800-page-plus green energy behemoth – Wirepoints

By: Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner

The Illinois Senate adjourned this week without calling for a vote on the state’s controversial green energy proposal, delaying a massive transformation of the state’s energy sector. The energy package includes a requirement for the state to go fully green by 2050, sets shut-down dates for coal and natural gas plants, gives hundreds of millions in subsidies to Exelon’s nuclear plants, adds new funding for energy construction and infrastructure projects, and more. 

The package has stalled largely due to differences between two of the left’s powerful interest groups: labor unions and the green lobby. Environmentalists want rapid shutdowns of the state’s coal and natural gas plants. Labor groups want those plants kept open for as long as possible to preserve thousands of union jobs. That issue hadn’t been ironed out by the time the Senate left Springfield.

The delay is good news for the general public and watchdog groups, which have no idea what’s really inside the non-transparent, 800-page-plus draft bill that has yet to be filed. The proposal’s financial impact isn’t fully known, though no doubt each special interest group knows exactly what’s in it for them. 

With session over for now, the best way forward would be for lawmakers to take a break from negotiations and listen to voices other than those of Illinois’ special interest groups – in particular those who will bear the burden of any deal: residents and businesses.

Nobody has told them the true cost of the green subsidies in the bill. Nor the true costs for Exelon to properly maintain Illinois’ nuclear power facilities. Nor the true, net impact on jobs from all the changes. Nor how the state will move from its current 8 percent in clean-energy generation to 40 percent in just nine years – or to 100 percent in 29 years.

That last point raises other concerning questions: Will Illinois be forced to buy energy from nearby states at exorbitant costs because it can’t produce enough in the future? Will the state experience power outages?

Balancing special interests

Champions of a deal, including Gov. J.B. Pritzker, are stuck balancing the competing demands of the labor unions, environmentalists, the equity movement and big business – all while cramming an enormous change down on Illinois’ energy sector and the general public. 

Those competing interests are the reason why the package stalled. Primarily, there’s the  jobs vs. climate issue that labor and environmentalists are clashing over. 

But there are other sticking points, as well. Exelon wants subsidies to keep its Illinois nuclear plants running. Climate activists want subsidies of their own for renewable energy sources, electric cars, and more. Not to mention the struggle over who controls the money that will flow to new programs, commissions, task forces and infrastructure projects.

Perhaps what best defines what this bill is, and what it is not, are the comments by State Rep. Ann Williams: “We need to pass a climate bill, not a utility bill…Without climate, and without equity, we have no deal.”

“Energy” package delay unsurprising

The senate’s failure to pass the energy package after months of negotiations isn’t that surprising.

For one, the plan faces lots of scrutiny for the previous ties between former-House Speaker Mike Madigan’s staff and ComEd – nobody wants to be perceived as going too far to help a massive, profitable company that already benefited from previous graft (ComEd agreed to pay $200 million in fines to resolve an investigation into its bribery schemes). This new deal calls for Exelon, ComEd’s parent, to get nearly $700 million in ratepayer support for three of its nuke plants (two of which they’re threatening to shut down this year if no help is given). 

Second, the package is a highly political and lucrative deal within the left, with interest groups fighting over the details. Gov. J.B. Pritzker summed up the competition saying: “This is not two interested parties – unions and environmentalists – this was not that. This was an eight-sided negotiation [and] very difficult to bring people together.”

The below list of items were compiled from a memo released by the governor detailing his version of the energy proposal.

  • The green lobby is supportive of the bill because it phases out coal by 2035 and natural gas by 2045. It calls for 40% renewables by 2030 and 100% by 2050. (Never mind that renewables make up less than 10 percent of all production today and there’s no clear plan on how to make the transition to 100 percent clean. Compounding the problem, much of Illinois’ nuclear capacity – more than 50 percent of the state’s energy production – will decline over the next few decades.)
  • The green lobby is also pushing for the bill because it specifically calls for the gradual phasing out of two major coal plants, Prairie State in Marissa and CWLP in Springfield, by 2035.
  • Labor groups, in contrast, want coal power to remain online through 2045 to protect jobs. The governor’s compromise with them allows that, as long as carbon-capture technology can meet the demand for lower emissions.
  • Labor groups want the bill because it requires for much of the conversion to green to be paid for with prevailing wages (union wages) for new infrastructure projects.
  • Exelon supports the deal because it calls for $694 million in higher subsidies to keep three of the company’s Illinois nuclear plants afloat. The previous energy deal in 2016 under Madigan bailed out two other Exelon nuke facilities.
  • Labor groups also want Illinois’ nuclear plants bailed out because it will mean thousands of jobs saved.
  • Equity advocates approve the bill due to significant equity-focused provisions regarding energy jobs and investments.
  • Green energy providers and manufacturers support the bill because they get subsidies from ratepayers totaling $215 million.
  • The auto industry supports the bill because it includes an up-to-$4,000 subsidy for electric vehicle purchases.
  • Big-government supporters back this bill because it provides for a future collection of new programs, commissions, task forces and spending.

The biggest group left out of the deal-making? Ordinary Illinoisans. They’re the ones on the hook for the inevitable rate hikes and future tax increases to pay for all the giveaways – and the potential risks inherent in fully transforming Illinois energy to renewables.

The energy bill deserved to be delayed for reasons beyond the politics involved. The lack of transparency, for one. Even among the bill’s supporters, it’s likely few know the math behind it or have even taken time to read what they’re going to pass. Considering how Illinois lawmakers tend to pass 1,000-page budgets at the last minute every year, that’s a pretty safe bet.

Passage of the bill in some form is inevitable. With supermajorities in place, Illinois Democrats will likely end up hashing things out. 

A better plan would be to actually engage with those most impacted by any energy changes – residents and businesses. A coalition of business organizations recently asked for just that: “On behalf of the people most impacted by this legislation, we urge you to delay this legislation and meaningfully engage the consumers, business owners, organizations and municipalities that will be saddled with the costs.”

But this is Illinois, so expect special interests to win and ordinary Illinoisans to lose out.

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CharlesEcho
2 years ago

100% renewable green energy is totally attainable. We can easily reach 100% once we end coal, gas, and nuclear energy production. Once we have eliminated the current bad generators and only have wind and solar we will be at 100%. Of course that 100% will be intermittent and sporadic, but it will be renewable. Full green will not be possible until we have developed a way to build all this green crap without fossil fuels. Yes the green dream is bullship.

Last edited 2 years ago by CharlesEcho
Waukegan
2 years ago

I wish wirepoints would look into the issue of wind and solar having priority to feed the grid when they are producing. I say exelon needs subsidies because they have to throttle down their input when the intermittent producers are the govt mandated priority. Without necessary baseload generation and adequate reserve we will become Germany or South Australia or Denmark or England or…

Riverbender
2 years ago

There sure are a lot of towns in Southern Illinois that have been devastated because of the elimination of the need for coal for power plants. “No big deal” says Pritzker “whats Southern and Central Illinois?”

The Paraclete
2 years ago

Wind turbines and unicorns what’s the diff? Modern nuclear is all we could depend on. Yea, yea, yea! Three Mile and Chernobyl. Start getting serious about fusion. Nowhere near the waste problem with fission. Take a longer view for the greater good versus a bigger bankroll. The Illinois General Assembly of Reprobates, the IGAR.

DixonSyder
2 years ago

“Mommy, what did we have before candles” asked the little girl as she struggled to read her book in a darkened room. “Well sweetie we had this thing called electricity, but it was bad. Try on your new glasses they may help”.

NoHope4Illinois
2 years ago

Illinois will be the new virtue signaling California, yet unable to provide for itself. Let’s simply just examine how unsustainable wind power is – these are machines which wear out, are not meant for base load, and cannot be fully recycled. The harm ‘wind farms’ have on migratory birds is well documented, including eagles.

As WP pointed out – just another massive power and money grab by the connected.

Streeterville
2 years ago

You’d think 1st lesson from Texas power-outrage this past winter would be: #1, KEEP YOUR COAL-POWERED ELECTRICAL PLANTS.

SherlockHomeless
2 years ago

The merry little band of clowns in Springfield led by the jovial fool Governor
Flintstone are afraid of good governance, They just keep piddling away money Illinois does not have!

Thee Jabroni
2 years ago

how quickly our betters forget about the massive problems that texas had not that long ago when a lot of the windmills froze and thousands went for days in the cold with no heat or electricity,whats gonna happen here when it gets down to minus 20-the green new deal should be called “The Green New Steal”!!

Fed up neighbor
2 years ago
Reply to  Thee Jabroni

Don’t worry Pritzker has it all planned out, there gonna use helicopters to drop rock salt on the windmills to thaw them, just being sarcastic, but you are correct it is a Green New Steal flat out.

Thee Jabroni
2 years ago

LMFAO!!!-good one!!

Thee Jabroni
2 years ago

Im still laughing!!-THANK U!!

Luke
2 years ago

Yeah, it’ll pass. This state is stupider than shit. Also, is it just me or is it actually MORE CORRUPT without Madigan than with and why haven’t we ever seen the FBI’s 302 forms of their interview with Obuma in 2008?

Old Spartan
2 years ago

Great work again by Wirepoints. But no one mentions the awful eyesores being stuck into the ground all over Illinois. Especially in Central Illinois, the windmills look just terrible and are a blight on the farmland scenery. A friend who hadn’t driven through Illinois in the last twenty years until last week commented to me that he would much rather look at one tall smokestack or nuclear cooling tower off in the distance than hundreds of the industrial grade propellers.

morefandave
2 years ago

I think the legislation should be amended before passage to designate a new State Song: California, Here We Come

Illinois Entrepreneur
2 years ago

What I’m reading is that there is so much grifting going on, that the pirates are sword fighting over the booty on the deck.

Meanwhile, the slaves are told to shut up and continue rowing.

Personally, I’m looking for an island that I might be able to jump off and swim to…

LessonLearned
2 years ago

It’s not an island, but so far we like Tennessee.

gio;]
2 years ago

Thank you Ted and John for being so quick on the draw to pick apart the latest green hustle. Whatever will these people do when they don’t have a pandemic to manage anymore!? I’ve been trying to expand my thinking about energy policy without carrying any biases for one source over the other in a walk and chew gum type way. Though I think there are categorical problems with ground extracted energy, it certainly beats whatever environmental nonsense they’re trying to sell us, and of course the fundamental inputs for wind, solar, geothermal, etc. all use significant amounts of basically… Read more »

LessonLearned
2 years ago

Doesn’t it feel like a powerful crime family is running Illinois? It’s only objective is taking your money for itself. Any attempt to interfere is quickly squashed. You can pretend to own wealth (like property), but it really belongs to the bosses. 

gio;]
2 years ago
Reply to  LessonLearned

Absolutely. And it’s about time we name names (crown, mccormick, pritzker, payseur, saxe-coburg-gotha, orange-nassau, “redshield”…) and raise our thinking about who are the ultimate puppet masters here. My spidey sense tells me at least the next rung/level of the pyramid to focus on is the “Old Money/Trust/Foundation Class,” and even they are probably fronts for people/beings that are prefer/can’t show their face. If it were me I wouldn’t show my face either, but then again doesn’t being the master of the universe just sound exhausting!? Wouldn’t you rather be fishing with your grand kids or something? That’s why (and particularly… Read more »

Anna
2 years ago
Reply to  LessonLearned

The State is implementing a global UN program called Agenda 21, the world-wide agenda for the 21st century.
A design for living that encompasses The Three E’s” :social equity, ecology, and economy.
Read Rosa Koire’s
Behind the Green Mask: U.N. Agenda 21

Linda lloyd
2 years ago

Any business that needs to be subsidizes is not going to be able to stand on their own. Waiting 20 or 30 years will, be time enough for some one to come up with ideas that are more cost friendly. They could end up richer than Bill Gates. The way I see it, government is just after the middle class money.

gio;]
2 years ago
Reply to  Linda lloyd

So true. They are there to run interference, poison the well, and ensure {they} and their centralized and managed “solutions” dominate society.

They’re also trying to sell us on these new, green “micro grids” that I’m sure are not the elegant, decentralized solution they’re pretending to be.
I think they could be an improvement, but with them in charge how could it be!?
I think it has something to do with requiring “smart/AI” control/management…More research needed here by the hard science people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rx4sV9N8nY
^Another resource to help expand our thinking about energy tech possibilities

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