Press Conference Held to Announce Clean Energy Jobs Act

ALTON – A press conference was held late Thursday morning at the National Great Rivers Research Center to announce the introduction of the Clean Energy Jobs Act in Illinois.

Called Senate Bill (SB) 2132 or House Bill (HB) 3624 in the Illinois General Assembly, the Clean Energy Jobs Act is a four-pillared approach to continuing the progress of the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) in the state. The act's main focuses include not only moving jobs in the energy sector from nonrenewable sources, such as coal and natural gas, to renewable sources, such as wind and solar, but also on the economic impact on Illinois municipalities. These economic impacts would work to assist low-income communities, as well as communities currently dependent on nonrenewable energy, find new income through renewable sources.

The press conference was led by 17-year-old Grace Traylor, a senior at Carlinville High School. She said she helped a group of her peers work toward informing her community and their social groups about the importance of future energy jobs in Carlinville as well as other rural communities in Illinois. Virginia Woulfe-Beille, who represented the Piasa Palisades chapter of the Sierra Club, continued to expound on that sentiment by saying it would help municipalities such as East Alton, who lost the Dynegy plant, and East St. Louis.

First among those four pillars is “promoting jobs and economic opportunity,” which would create something called the Clean Jobs Workforce Hubs. Those hubs would act as a network of front-line organizations dedicated to helping people from minority and disadvantaged communities find work in the renewable energy field. It would also create a contractor incubator program.

“This legislation says that no community should be left behind as Illinois builds up as Illinois builds up its clean energy economy,” Gregory Norris, president of Alton Aces 4 Youth-My Brother's Keeper. “This bill can help ensure that people in urban and rural communities, in particular, communities of color, can help lead the way in the new energy economy, especially in creating new clean energy businesses and sharing in the lower energy costs.”

Secondly, and perhaps ambitiously, the bill also aims to make Illinois run entirely on renewable energy by 2050. During the conference, Norris also shared an anecdote from a time he was in Texas. He said a Skype call from Denver, Colorado – a state often praised for its energy policies – said Illinois was “where to be” in the realm of solar opportunities.

If passed, the bill would push for as many as 40 million solar panels, 2,500 wind turbines by 2030, and it would potentially generate as much as $30 billion in new infrastructure in the state, according to a release praising it. It also is in line with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker's push for 100 percent renewable energy in the state by 2050.

“I hope more energy comes to the Metro East from this,” Woulfe-Beille said following the press conference. “The Future Energy Jobs Act did not bring as much in as I'd like, and I would love to see more come to this area.”

She said the progress, though it could be better, was promising. She said around 35 jobs in the Metro East were directly related to renewable energy in 2016, and that number has grown by more than 200 positions since.

The third pillar of the proposed bill is a reduction of gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles from the road by as much as one million. It would create a new Beneficial Electrification initiative, which would give an incentive to purchase more electrical vehicles. It would also work toward a sort of ride-sharing program utilizing electrical vehicles aimed at people who would otherwise not be able to afford adequate transportation.

While the ultimate goal is renewable energy by 2050, it would also create a carbon-free power sector by 2030. It would create a comprehensive stakeholder process prioritizing carbon reduction though the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). It would also create Clean Energy Empowerment Zones to support communities and workers directly affected by the loss of fossil fuel jobs.

Rev. Jennifer Warren Hauser, the Pastor of First United Methodist Church in Granite City spoke at the conference regarding the religious aspect of the bill's mission. She said the bill was built to ensure the conservation of both humans and the environment with the hope they could work in harmony.

Most of the bill was compiled by the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, which includes several groups across the state, locally including the Piasa Palisades chapter of the Sierra Club, The United Congregations of the Metro East, the Metro East Green Alliance and Aces 4 Youth, following as many as 60 meetings across the state, titled “Listen. Lead. Share.” During these meetings, people were asked to give their input and concerns before the bill was drafted.

“The passage of this bill would impact the lives of the members of my generation – the workforce that my generation enters into the next five, 10 years will be significantly stronger and cleaner than that of our parents and grandparents,” Traylor said in a release.

She opened the conference with results from a study she cited in which it was stated as much as 85 percent of current jobs will not exist by 2030.

More like this:

Related Video: