By Dick Munson

Illinois is two-for-two on clean energy wins. Today, Illinois legislators introduced a bill to spur significant new growth in the clean energy industry, creating an estimated 32,000 jobs annually across Illinois once proposed clean energy standards are fully implemented. Already a leader in America’s clean energy economy, Illinois, with this bill, would help boost the 100,000 clean energy jobs that exist in the state, protect our children and future generations from the impacts of climate change, as well as maintain a reliable and affordable electricity system.

The bill, endorsed by the recently-formed Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, of which EDF is a member, contains three main components:

1. Strengthening Illinois’ energy efficiency policies

The bill would increase standards to reduce electricity use in Illinois by 20 percent by 2025, a 50 percent increase in savings compared to what would otherwise occur based on current trends. The bill also improves on-bill financing and real-time pricing programs to help more Illinoisans save money.

2. Updating and extending the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) to enable solar and wind energy projects to flourish.

The bill would revise the current RPS to increase the share of power coming from renewable sources to 35 percent by 2030, up from the state’s current standard of 25 percent by 2025. The bill also makes technical fixes to the RPS that energy experts say have become necessary since more customers and municipalities have started purchasing energy from alternative suppliers rather than from utilities.

3. A market-based strategy to meet new