SPRINGFIELD -- In the final hours of their spring session last week, lawmakers approved a controversial measure that would give existing power companies in downstate Illinois, notably Ameren Illinois, the first crack at installing new transmission lines.
by signing up you agree to our terms of service The proposal was in a broader piece of energy legislation, House Bill 3445, which was introduced in its final form last Thursday night and passed in the early hours of Saturday. It passed in the Senate 41-9 with a single member voting"present" and in the House 63-32, with two"present" votes.
"This is an 18-month temporary right of refusal," Stadelman told Capitol News Illinois on Thursday."I just want to make sure that over that time period, there is certainty to our grid and that the jobs are Illinois jobs. I don't want these jobs going out of state." The measure's opponents, however, include a mix of environmentalists, business groups, renewable energy companies and the state's attorney general.
Rep. Ann Williams, a Chicago Democrat and the chair of the House Energy and Environment committee, pointed to the significant cost of transmission line projects that have recently been approved by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator. Clean energy studies In addition to the right of first refusal provisions, HB 3445 would direct the Illinois Power Agency to study several potential developments in the state's energy sector. That includes a potential offshore wind farm pilot program off the coast of Lake Michigan, dubbed the"Rust Belt to Green Belt" project.
A bill outlining a funding scheme for the project was put forward earlier in the year. It passed in the House but stalled when it arrived in the Senate. Nuclear construction Lawmakers also approved Senate Bill 76, which would allow for the construction of"advanced" nuclear reactors in the state.