Illinois will see more investment into renewable energy, based on a new bill Gov. JB Pritzker has signed into law.

The Clean and Reliable Grid Act [CRGA] is intended to expand the state’s energy capacity in hopes of lowering energy prices. Opponents say it’s unclear if the measure will do that.

CRGA created a commission called Integrated Resource Planning [IRP] to research lowering energy prices and making a more efficient grid. The bill will also lift the moratorium on new large-scale nuclear power plants.

CRGA will invest in solar and wind energy and battery storage. This is a continuation of Illinois’ goal to use more renewable energy, and aims to meet the goals of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act [CEJA]. The 2021 law set a goal using only clean energy in the Illinois electrical grid by 2050 and investing more in clean energy jobs.

State Rep. Sharon Chung, a Democrat from Bloomington, said there is a finite amount of coal and natural gas, and CRGA will make Illinois less reliant on non-renewable energy.

“It’s just trying to figure out the balance between looking forward … maybe also balancing that with past technologies, trying to figure out how we can also, at the same time, keep costs down,” Chung said.

She said the bill might not bring down costs for consumers but it will prevent more price increases.

Chung said McLean County has been at the forefront of building wind farms and battery storage that can help distribute energy more efficiently.

“Taking that energy that we’re getting from wind and solar, harnessing it and then to be able to use it to meet higher demand periods,” she said.

Chung said she supports an expansion of nuclear energy and she still has concerns about the power usage of data centers.

Chung said there is only so much Illinois can do to lower energy costs and it is up to the federal government to also provide relief for consumers.

Pritzker, when signing the bill, said soaring energy prices in Illinois are directly attributable to President Trump’s tariffs on products needed for clean energy construction.

“More fossil fuels will be used to produce electricity, and that drives property insurance bills up. It threatens our agriculture industry. It pollutes the air that we breathe. It’s a reckless energy agenda that’s taking us backward,” Pritzker said.

State Sen. Sally Turner, R-Beason, who voted "no" on CRGA, said she is concerned about the reliability of wind energy, solar energy and battery storage technology.

“There’s going to be shortages and reliability risks, and those risks are out there, and they’re not going to be met with what we presently have and it’s not going to be met with simply wind, solar and battery power backup,” Turner said.

Turner said Illinois should invest more into natural gas because it is more reliable and cost effective.

Turner said this bill will give money to energy companies instead of lowering energy costs for families.

“When it comes to ‘I need assistance with my energy bill,’ because we know that’s out of control right now, a lot of what I think we see that it’s going to special interests,” Turner said.

She said the creation of a research process to help slow rising costs is a good idea but thinks it might be too late for it to effectively lower energy costs.

Turner said the legislature should look to increase taxes on solar, wind and data centers. She said they are not paying their fair share now.

Sen. Chris Balkema, R-Channahon, also voted against CRGA. He said the Illinois government should not be giving incentives to any energy companies.

“I would support energy providers being able to provide energy on their own dime, investing their own capital, and then being able to turn a profit,” Balkema said.

Balkema said since CEJA is moving toward only relying on clean energy by 2050, there is no incentive for companies to build new coal or natural gas plants.

“I think that we are in an OK spot in that we have to be careful to not regulate ourselves back to the point where we drive prices even higher than we anticipate now,” Balkema said.

Turner and Balkema said they agreed with allowing more nuclear plants to be built.

“The opportunity to install small nuclear power plants, or micro plants, to provide additional energy around the state is a wonderful thing,” Balkema said.

Turner and Senate Republicans want to give more local control when building energy infrastructure.

The Senate GOP is pushing to repeal the state’s self-imposed mandate to be 100% reliant on renewable energy, in hopes that the state would see more investment by all energy companies, which could lower prices.

They also introduced a measure to get data on how current energy laws are affecting energy prices.

An environmental advocate who supports the energy bill pointed out there is no stipulation preventing fossil fuels from being factored into the state’s short-term energy plan, as the state ramps up investment in renewables.

“What is the right grid mix to ensure both reliability, so that the lights are staying on for folks and not creating an outage front, but also that utility bills are manageable and not skyrocketing?” said Samira Hanaessian, director of policy for the Illinois Environmental Council.

Hanaessian said the process can lower costs for consumers and continue building on Illinois’ climate goals.

She said the next step is to regulate data centers by making them build their own electrical infrastructure.