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Lawmakers passed just a handful of clean-energy-related bills this session, a sharp contrast to last year, when they delivered dozens of laws to deal with climate change.
Despite late-session negotiations, energy legislation passed without any major upheaval.
The amount of wind power — the state’s biggest source of renewable energy — took a surprising 6% dip from the previous year, while natural gas-generated electricity had a 43% jump in 2023, government data show. A pressure system in Canada — the same weather pattern that helped spur wildfires up north, filling Chicago skies with smoke last summer — was a big reason wind power was down in 2023. The shifting wind direction affected how much wind powered all those nearly 300-foot turbines dotting the Illinois countryside.
Illinois policy says wind and solar are supposed to replace coal plants that are closing, but that didn’t happen in 2023. Another fossil fuel, natural gas, filled the void instead.
Wind and solar are supposed to replace coal plants that are closing, but that didn’t happen in 2023. Another fossil fuel, natural gas, filled the void.