Clean Energy Industries Rally Behind Bills to Save Ratepayers $3 Billion Through Grid Modernization

ILLINOIS – Illinois clean energy industries are unified in supporting HB5856 and SB3959, new legislation that will future-proof Illinois’ energy grid and economy, lower consumer costs, meet climate goals, create family-sustaining careers, and mitigate increasing risks of blackouts. 

“Clean energy is the future, and it’s my duty to work toward that future for the benefit of all Illinois residents,” said State Rep. Barbara Hernandez (D-Aurora), lead House sponsor of HB5856. “HB5856 and SB3959 will provide many benefits to Illinois for decades to come, from lowering consumers costs to ushering in thousands of jobs to preventing dangerous blackouts to bolstering our power grid to make Illinois an attractive investment for energy-intensive tech companies.”

These bills establish the first clean energy storage procurement mandate for the state to ensure a more reliable grid and address challenges that are slowing down renewable energy resource development. HB5856/SB3959 would save Illinois consumers $30 per month on their energy bills, prevent more than $7 billion in blackout-related expenses, and create as much as $16 billion in economic benefits. 

“Illinois has an ambitious plan to be a national leader in the climate change fight while supercharging the state’s clean energy economy,” said State Sen. Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago). “While Illinois is on the right path to meet its goals, it is at risk of not meeting its more immediate deadlines, which will arrive as early as 2030. HB5856 and SB3959 are thoughtful, strategic bills that will help unleash the clean energy economy’s full potential while strengthening our electric grid to make it more reliable, encouraging development and job growth, and creating additional protections for consumers and all ratepayers.”

The clean energy industries collectively agree that HB5856 and SB3959 are necessary to address the urgent need for more clean energy storage in Illinois. Federal, regional, and state regulators identify Illinois as at risk for falling short of energy needs. This means the state will face challenges in maintaining a reliable grid and that consumers may experience increased and unpredictable energy rates. Legislative action is needed now because deploying large-scale energy storage resources takes time. Illinois residents are already feeling the impact of regulators’ projections, as the July 2024 PJM Interconnection energy capacity auction saw an 833% increase in energy prices, due to an anticipated energy capacity shortfall, which will increase power bills by as much as $30 per month for millions of Illinois residents within the PJM Interconnection territory. HB5856/SB3959 will directly address this risk by providing incentives to supercharge more solar and wind energy and storage developments for a more diverse, reliable power grid. 

“HB5856 and SB3959 are critical to building on the success of the landmark Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) in Illinois,” said Andrew Linhares, senior manager of state affairs, Central region for the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). “The Illinois clean energy economy has flourished in recent years but there’s more work to be done to secure the state’s clean energy future. This thoughtfully crafted legislation will help unleash the full potential of solar and storage and help Illinois achieve 100% clean energy by 2050.” 

A recent study by Mark Pruitt, former director of the Illinois Power Agency, founder of The Power Bureau, and a professor at Northwestern University, found that HB5856’s and SB3959’s target to create 8,500 MW of clean energy storage would provide $3 billion in consumer cost savings, save $7.3 billion in blackout-related costs through increased grid reliability, and generate up to $16.3 billion in economic activity in Illinois by 2050. The study also found that better energy storage is the most cost-effective, immediate, and attainable long-term solution. Not only would HB5856 and SB3959 create those benefits, but they would also ensure Illinois meets the clean energy mandates established by the 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA).

“American Clean Power (ACP) was proud to help lead this collaborative effort to ramp up the procurement and deployment of storage and solar technologies in a way that delivers for the people of Illinois,” said Erika Kowall, Director of Midwestern State Affairs for ACP. “HB5856 and SB3959 will meet the state’s clean energy goals, unleashing the full potential of clean energy’s cost efficiency and economic benefits. We appreciate the leadership of Sen. Cunningham and Rep. Hernandez for swiftly taking up this legislation and hope it can be implemented it quickly.”

“Energy storage will improve the reliability of the Illinois electric grid, and this legislation can’t come at a more important moment,” said Trish Demeter, Managing Director of Advanced Energy United. “The sooner we can begin adding more energy storage, the sooner we can address energy capacity shortfalls due to the ever-growing energy demand from residents and businesses, retiring power stations, and continued investments from energy-intensive industries, while providing savings to consumers and supercharging the Illinois economy.” 

“All of these pieces work together – storage, grid reliability, ratepayer savings, climate goals, and equity,” said Lesley McCain, Executive Director of Illinois Solar Energy and Storage Association. “HB5856 and SB3959 tie together each of these pieces to move Illinois closer toward achieving its climate goals. Energy storage is essential to creating a more reliable grid. A more reliable grid is critical to protecting residents from rising prices and attracting investments from new businesses. Incentivizing growth in these areas will accelerate progress toward our climate goals, which will remove high-polluting energy generators from low-income areas. More growth will stimulate the creation of more high-quality job and career opportunities for all Illinois residents. We’ve made great progress toward the aggressive climate goals established by CEJA, but we must keep learning, adapting, and growing if we want to achieve those goals.”

Interconnection is another important topic addressed by HB5856 / SB3959. Interconnection is the process of connecting an energy generating system, such as a new residential solar panel installation or a community solar array, to the existing power grid. Currently, the process varies significantly from project to project, which can result in large, unanticipated costs to connect a system to the energy grid. Oftentimes, the large, unanticipated cost arises after the development is completed, which can terminate a project even if the system is built and ready to be energized. HB5856 / SB3959 aims to increase transparency and predictability on the interconnection process to reduce surprise changes and costs and maintain the integrity and safety of the power grid.

“There are many critical stages to solar energy project development, and interconnection is one of the most critical,” said Carlo Cavallaro, Midwest Regional Director of Coalition for Community Solar Access. “When the system has been built and all that is left is to connect it to the grid, this is not when a project should be stalled or failed. Unfortunately, it happens more than one might think, so HB5856 / SB3959 addresses this in a way that makes the process more transparent and collaborative. If we can make this process more efficient, then it’ll benefit all ratepayers because the process will be cheaper and faster; and it will help us add new clean energy resources to the grid and reach our clean energy goals faster.”

“Building on CEJA’s landmark goals, HB5856 / SB3959 is a progressive, evidence-based approach that will establish Illinois’ energy grid as the nation’s leader in clean, affordable, and reliable electricity. It will positively benefit electricity customers, improve grid reliability, and send a bold message far and wide that Illinois is open for clean energy business,” said Jeff Danielson, Vice President of Advocacy at Clean Grid Association. “We’re proud to stand with Illinois’ new generation of energy leaders in the Senate and House, who are focused on building the grid of tomorrow right here in the heartland of America. They are standing up for the clean energy opportunities Illinois’ citizens deserve and showing that a reliable grid and business investments of the future go hand-in-hand. The rest of the Midwest, indeed the USA, will take notice.”

HB5856 / SB3959 addresses the following:

Grid Resilience and Reliability

• Establishes an 8.5 GW utility-scale cumulative storage procurement target for the Illinois Power Agency. Storage is a critical component of a stable and resilient grid, as it provides on-time support for grid infrastructure during high-usage Peak Load periods.
• Creates a storage + solar/wind ecosystem that empowers increased storage development at all scales and multi-tech, from behind-the-meter to utility-scale.
• Creates incentive programs for customers to adopt technology that reduces peak loads, behind-meter storage that reduces peak loads or exports, and combined community solar + storage developments.
• Establishes a robust storage and Virtual Power Plant (VPP) ecosystem that makes it less likely a grid will need to tap non-renewable and high-pollutant fuels during periods of high usage, ensures the grid uses clean, renewable sources that work together regardless of whether or not the sun is shining or the wind is blowing, increasing the overall reliability of the grid in a sustainable way.

Economic Benefits, Consumer Protections, and Agency Modernization

• Creates a VPP program to provide cost-savings by tapping devices such as rooftop solar and storage to inject power to the grid during peak times, rather than burning extra non-renewable fuel to meet periods of peak demand.
• Implements a more efficient interconnection process to encourage more clean energy development.
• Fosters utility-scale solar development through new IPA storage procurement targets.
• Creates new incentives that eliminate barriers for ratepayers to adopt solar and storage.
• Creates guaranteed savings for consumers by requiring utilities to pass clean energy savings through to consumers.
• Uncaps the residential Illinois Shines Block to eliminate waiting lists and enable more households to install solar, which will create more demand and jobs for clean energy developers and contribute to a more stable grid.
• Stimulates new storage, solar, and wind development, which will lead to the creation of new high-quality clean energy jobs in every corner of Illinois.
• Modernizes IPA procurement processes to ensure efficient procurement of clean energy and keeps Illinois on track to achieve CEJA goals.

HB5856 / SB3959 can be read in its entirety HERE. To learn more about the legislation, visit https://www.solarpowersillinois.com/legislation-hb-5856.

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About SEIA®: 

The Solar Energy Industries Association® (SEIA) is leading the transformation to a clean energy economy, creating the framework for solar to achieve 30% of U.S. electricity generation by 2030. SEIA works with its 1,000 member companies and other strategic partners to fight for policies that create jobs in every community and shape fair market rules that promote competition and the growth of reliable, low-cost solar power. Founded in 1974, SEIA is the national trade association for the solar and solar + storage industries, building a comprehensive vision for the Solar+ Decade through research, education and advocacy. Visit SEIA online at www.seia.org and follow @SEIA on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Media Contact: 

Jacob Weinberg, SEIA’s Senior Manager of Communications, jweinberg@seia.org, (703) 350-3774