The fate of Xcel’s nuclear plants is largely unknown. Read more >
Jessica's Latest Posts
Photo: justice.gov
Coal-burning Dynegy Wants a Handout. Will Illinois Give It to Them?
November 17, 2017 11:59 AM EDT
Last week marked the end of the Illinois General Assembly’s 2017 veto session. Fortunately, Dynegy failed in its latest attempt to have the legislature bail out several of its coal plants in central and southern Illinois at the expense of local ratepayers. Read more >
Photo: used with permission from publicsource.org
Illinois is Expanding Solar Access to Low-Income Communities—But It Didn’t Happen Without a Fight
September 26, 2017 3:09 PM EDT
When the Future Energy Jobs Bill (FEJA) passed the Illinois General Assembly and was later approved by Governor Rauner in early December last year, a key component of the legislation was to expand solar access for low-income communities. To get a feeling for how the legislation came about, I caught up with Naomi Davis, president and founder of the Chicago-based non-profit Blacks in Green (BIG). She has been on the front lines of developing this innovative program and is excited to finally see it coming together. Read more >
Photo: UCS
Missing from the President’s Iowa Speech: Praise for Wind Energy
June 30, 2017 1:34 PM EDT
President Trump came to Cedar Rapids, Iowa last week for a rally and talked about putting solar panels on his border wall (even though there are 68.4 million better places for solar). Perhaps even more outrageous was how he bashed the wind industry that has invested nearly $14 billion in the state, and that employs thousands of workers in the operations, maintenance, construction, and manufacturing sectors. In 2016 alone, the industry supported over 8,000 direct and indirect jobs in Iowa.
He also stated “we’re going to be strong for the future”. Well, Mr. President, we, and Iowans in particular, are going to be strong because of the growth of wind energy, not despite of it. Let’s look at all the ways Trump’s comments on wind are misinformed. Read more >
A worker assembling cars at a GM plant. Photo: Wikimedia
As Washington Flounders, Midwest Businesses Forge Ahead on Clean Energy
June 16, 2017 10:28 AM EDT
If you’ve been watching the news lately, it can be depressing. With President Trump announcing that the United States will back out of the Paris Climate Agreement, his executive order to dismantle many climate policies, and the proposed EPA budget cuts, things look bleak for US leadership on climate.
But there’s hope! Despite all the negative attacks on clean energy at the federal level, clean energy momentum is happening, including in the Midwest. Read more >