Solar power capacity in Illinois is still frustratingly low. As of January, the state only had about 3.3 megawatts of installed solar online, 20 times less than New Jersey. A new survey
(PDF) conducted by the Solar Foundation found that Illinois lags behind
virtually all of its neighbors in terms of solar jobs. This shouldn't
be. The intensity of the sun in Illinois is equal to that of solar power
industry leaders like Germany and Japan. With a few smart investments
and legislative adjustments, solar could experience the same type of
growth its sister industry wind is undergoing currently.
The General Assembly took a step in the right direction this spring,
passing legislation that sped up the date by which utilities will have
to procure solar power under the state's renewable energy standard. But
several encouraging bills are still languishing. One of those (SB 3426)
would have improved the state's net metering rules, a tiny policy
tweak that would have given large energy consumers an incentive to
install solar panels on their business parks, big box commercial
stores, or industrial warehouses. For that, we have to thank State Sen.
Mike Jacobs (D-Moline), chair of the Illinois Senate Energy Committee.
Last spring, to the dismay of local climate hawks, Jacobs failed to
call several renewable energy bills for a vote, including the net metering change. In an interview with Illinois Issues yesterday, Jacobs called
solar power "expensive." This ignores the fact that the price of dirty energy is
artificially low; demand has slowed as a result of the recession and we
still do not put a price on carbon. Jacobs also mentioned that "we
need to make sure that we take care of our current employers before we
go chasing new ones." That's an odd statement considering the state's economic situation. It also conveniently skips over one crucial fact worth remembering: Jacob's dad lobbies for ComEd, which fought those same bills that stalled under
Jacobs' watch.
