The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Science Policy and Research Legislative Fellows (PRLF) program matches graduate students with state legislators on a policy research project. This past year, I worked with District Office Director Marguerite Bailey, Former State Representative Mike Marron, and State Representative Brandun Schweizer on renewable energy incentive outreach in Illinois 104th district.
Through the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), Illinois has set a statewide goal of phasing out carbon emissions from the energy and transportation sectors and reaching 100% renewable energy by 2050, with interim goals of 40% renewable energy by 2030 and 50% by 2050. To achieve this goal, state agencies such as the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA), Illinois Power Agency (IPA), and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) have been tasked to create and oversee programs that incentivize the use of renewable energy and electric vehicles, as well as invest in workforce development to support this transition. Additionally, the federal government is incentivizing renewable energy and electric vehicle adaptation, with legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act anticipated to bring billions of dollars of investment to Illinois.
Currently, only 14% of energy produced in Illinois is from solar, wind and storage capacity. Therefore, to achieve 100% renewable by 2050 there needs to be tremendous growth in the renewable sector, and engaging with the public to adopt renewable energy is crucial. With the rapid and recent investments from federal and state government in solar energy, it can be difficult for constituents to understand the full opportunities available to them. Therefore, the purpose of this presentation is to provide a comprehensive overview of the different incentive programs to adopt solar energy and electric vehicle infrastructure in Illinois 104th district, as well as share lessons learned from the PRLF program.
