SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Chicago is one of the world's most iconic city skylines, but a new report shows Illinois could do more to make those towering commercial buildings more eco-friendly - and save money in the process.

New research from Georgia Tech's School of Public Policy estimated Illinois commercial building owners could save more than $100 million a year in power costs by 2030 if the state adopted President Obama's Clean Power Plan, or CPP.

The EPA will hold a hearing Wednesday in Chicago about bringing parts of the plan to low-income communities. Kelly Nichols with Moms Clean Air Force of Illinois said her group will testify in support.

"I think that's an amazing resource to have for communities that are bearing the brunt of pollution, and also don't have the same kinds of resources as other communities,” Nichols said. "It's very difficult to get solar panels on top of an apartment building, and this kind of a program makes it easier and more accessible."

According to the study, if Illinois apartment owners are able to adopt some of the CPP ideas - like installing rooftop solar systems - they could save more than $8 million a year.

Report author Dr. Marilyn Brown of Georgia Tech said the CPP goals would help reduce costs and pollution by setting federal limits on carbon emissions from power plants. She said that commercial buildings end up being responsible for about one-third of the carbon emissions from producing electricity.

"Most electricity is used to heat and cool and light buildings,” Brown said, "and about half of that building's electricity goes to businesses. So, it's a really important source for climate mitigation, CO2 emission reductions. "

The CPP is on hold while it is challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court by 24 states; Illinois is not among them. Opponents of the plan argue that the EPA overstepped its authority by requiring a one-third cut in carbon emissions by 2030.



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The Arizona Corporation Commission has unanimously voted development of the massive SunZia Transmission Wind Project can continue.

The commission approved amendments to SunZia's Certificate of Environmental Compatibility, which completes the Arizona permitting process for the 3,000 megawatt wind project.

Adam Stafford, managing senior staff attorney for Western Resource Advocates, said they commend the decision to move forward with the project. Based in central New Mexico, it will provide power to an estimated 2.5 million customers in states Stafford pointed out are already feeling the impacts of climate change.

"Decarbonization needs to happen, and the science is telling us that we are facing a rapidly closing window to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees," Stafford asserted. "These are the kinds of steps that we need to be taking - adding new clean energy, adding new transmission lines, increase regionalization to try and minimize cost."

This summer, Pattern Energy acquired the SunZia project from Southwestern Power Group. Pattern Energy will use the 550-mile long SunZia Transmission line to deliver power from New Mexico to Arizona. Southwestern Power plans to develop a second, parallel transmission line, called El Rio Sol.

Stafford said together, they will transmit power from the largest wind project in the Western Hemisphere.

According to U.S. Census data, Arizona is one of the fastest-growing states in the U.S.

Stafford emphasized while Arizona has focused mostly on solar energy, which is part of the clean-energy puzzle, other forms should not be overlooked. According to Western Resource Advocates, the SunZia line will avoid nearly 17 million metric tons of annual CO2 emissions.

"At the hearing, they showed the generation profile of the wind, and it's complementary to the profile of solar generation in Arizona," Stafford stressed. "It comes in, in the evenings, and blows at nighttime when the sun's not shining."

Pattern Energy is expected to begin operations in 2025. Southwestern Power is expected to bring El Rio Sol online by 2031. The projects are privately funded, and are estimated to bring $1 billion in direct economic benefits to governments and communities in Arizona and New Mexico.

One out of six American families is behind on their utility bills, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.

Part of the reason for higher utility costs is additional fuel surcharges, based on the energy customers use in kilowatt-hours.

Joshua Bills, commercial energy specialist for the Mountain Association, said charges fluctuate in response to the price of fuel, noting utility companies use the surcharge to pass the buck onto ratepayers.

"They just pass those costs directly to customers, as they receive them," Bills explained. "It sort of reduces the risk to the utility of the volatility, and places all of that volatility on customers."

He pointed out switching to energy-efficient light bulbs, upgrading heating and cooling systems, and running home appliances during "off-peak" hours each month are all ways to decrease consumption and reduce the monthly surcharge.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts electricity prices will continue to rise, with global instability and the continued increase in demand for power, through the winter.

Cara Cooper, coordinator for the group Kentuckians for Energy Democracy, said public comment periods are some of the best tools people have to help direct how energy rates are determined, and what kinds of energy sources companies should prioritize.

"Every day, the Public Service Commission in Kentucky is making really important decisions related to regulating our electric utilities," Cooper noted.

Research shows states with solar and wind infrastructure in place saw lower rate increases between June 2021 and July 2022, compared to states without renewable-power options. Bills stressed counties in the Commonwealth are beginning to take steps toward clean energy, but progress has been slow.

"Kentucky has a long ways to go compared to other states," Bills acknowledged. "We do have quite an influx of proposals for merchant solar. But there's very little groundbreaking happening yet with all those proposals."

Merchant solar is solar power financed by investors and sold to utility companies. Bills noted the Inflation Reduction Act has incentives for boosting energy efficiency and clean energy.

Next year, Kentucky small businesses and households may be eligible for federal assistance to help reduce their power usage.

A first-of-its-kind hybrid power plant with wind, solar and battery storage has opened in Oregon, and the plant could be a model as power grids across the country decarbonize.

The Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility is a partnership between Portland General Electric and NextEra Energy Resources and is located in Lexington, about 30 miles south of the Columbia River in Central Oregon.

Brett Sims, vice president of strategy, regulation and energy supply for Portland General Electric, said the facility will go a long way toward achieving Oregon's ambitious climate goals.

"That's a generating facility that literally has the capability to serve 100,000 households, which is roughly the equivalent of the energy requirements of a city the size of Salem or Eugene," Sims pointed out. "So when we add those types of facilities, that's a big needle mover."

Under a law passed last year, Oregon utilities are required to reduce carbon emissions by 100% by 2040, one of the most ambitious climate goals in the nation.

Jason Burwen, vice president of energy storage for the American Clean Power Association, said the sun does not always shine when the wind is blowing and vice versa, which is why the hybrid facility will look as if it is one resource with consistent output.

He noted one of the biggest challenges to wind and solar at the moment is a lack of transmission lines.

"Folks are trying to find efficiencies for how to get more resources online faster and hybridizing them," Burwen emphasized. "Putting them all together at one site can help speed up that process."

Burwen stressed we can build solar, wind and storage faster than any other clean resource. He added 2040 might seem far away, but building will have to start today to move utilities away from fossil-fuel sources by then.

"To meet a fully decarbonized power system requires us to build more wind and solar and storage than we ever have before at a pace that is greater than we have ever done before," Burwen concluded.

Support for this reporting was provided by Solutions Journalism Network.