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Illinois

‘Last Gasp for Coal’ Saw Illinois Plants Crank up Emission-Spewing Production Last Year

Burning coal to create electricity will be largely banned in Illinois in 2030. But plants in the state burned much more in 2021 than the year before.

By Brett Chase, Dan Gearino

NRG Energy's coal-fired Will County Electric Generating Station sits along the I&M Canal on May 15, 2019 in Romeoville, Illinois. Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Opponents of a metal-shredding operation have fought Mayor Lori Lightfoot since she took office almost three years ago. In this 2020 photo, demonstrators lined up near the mayor’s home. Credit: Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago Mayor Slow to Act on Promises to Build Green Economy by Repurposing Polluted Industrial Sites

By Brett Chase

Power lines and power generating windmills rise above the rural landscape on June 13, 2018 near Dwight, Illinois. Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Inside Clean Energy: Here Are 5 States that Took Leaps on Clean Energy Policy in 2021

By Dan Gearino

Christopher Williams of Millennium Solar Training speaks to a class about the future of clean energy in Woodlawn, Illinois, on Thursday. Credit: Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Illinois Now Boasts the ‘Most Equitable’ Climate Law in America. So What Will That Mean?

By Brett Chase, Dan Gearino

The Illinois State Capitol Building, in Springfield, Illinois on May 05, 2012. Credit: Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Inside Clean Energy: In Illinois, an Energy Bill Passes That Illustrates the Battle Lines of the Broader Energy Debate

By Dan Gearino

Pete Southerton (left) and Tom Bradshaw, of solar energy contractor Certasun, install solar panels on a Northwest Side home, Monday afternoon, May 17, 2021. Credit: Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Illinois Solar Companies Say They Are ‘Held Hostage’ by Statehouse Gridlock

By Dan Gearino, Brett Chase

Corn is harvested in this aerial photograph taken above Malden, Illinois, on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2015. Credit: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Despite Capitol Hill Enthusiasm for Planting Crops to Store Carbon, Few Farmers are Doing It, Report Finds

By Georgina Gustin

The Prairie State coal fired power plant in southern Illinois. Photo Courtesy of Prairie State Generating Co.

As Illinois Strains to Pass a Major Clean Energy Law, a Big Coal Plant Stands in the Way

By Dan Gearino, Brett Chase

Pete Southerton (left) and Tom Bradshaw, of solar energy contractor Certasun, install solar panels on a Chicago home on May 17, 2021. Credit: Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

How Pay-to-Play Politics and an Uneasy Coalition of Nuclear and Renewable Energy Led to a Flawed Illinois Law

By Dan Gearino, Brett Chase

Johari Cole-Kweli feeds her chickens on her farm, Iyabo Farms, in Pembroke Township, Illinois on April 21, 2021. Credit: Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Race, Poverty, Farming and a Natural Gas Pipeline Converge In a Rural Illinois Township

By Brett Chase

The Massachusetts State House the seat of Government in Boston. United States. Credit: Tim Graham/Getty Images

Inside Clean Energy: Here Are 3 States to Watch in 2021

By Dan Gearino

PacifiCorp's Hunter coal fired power pant releases steam as it burns coal outside of Castle Dale, Utah on Nov. 14, 2019. Credit: George Frey/AFP via Getty Images

Inside Clean Energy: The Era of Fossil Fuel Power Plants Is Rapidly Receding. Here Is Their Life Expectancy

By Dan Gearino

Solar panels work in an integrated power station in Yancheng city, in Jiangsu province, on Oct. 14, 2020. Credit: Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images

Inside Clean Energy: Four Charts Tell the Story of the Post-Covid Energy Transition

By Dan Gearino

Steam billows from the cooling towers at Exelon's nuclear power generating station in Byron, Illinois. Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Inside Clean Energy: Illinois Faces (Another) Nuclear Power Standoff

By Dan Gearino

Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder. Credit: State of Ohio

Illinois and Ohio Bribery Scandals Show the Perils of Mixing Utilities and Politics

By Dan Gearino

Activists Vow Fight Over Ill. Frack Regs

By Katherine Bagley

Midwest's Largest Solar Farm Scaled Back

By Brian J. Rogal, Midwest Energy News

Some States Push For New Nuclear Reactors, With Little Success

By Dave Levitan

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