Rockford Sun

State Rep. Jeff Keicher (R-Sycamore) shared an update on a bill meant to create an offshore wind energy pilot program in a Facebook post published on Sunday.

"I called for this bill to be called in the last General Assembly during lame duck but environmentalists blocked it," Keicher wrote. "Instead, they rammed HB 4412 through, and it was an honor to speak in support of offshore wind on Friday."

On Friday, the Illinois House of Representatives passed House Bill 2132, sponsored by Keicher, to create a pilot program for the development of offshore wind turbines on the Illinois coast of Lake Michigan. The bill specifies that the program receives financial support through available federal funding for offshore wind energy developments and donations without using state tax dollars.

“I want to remind the chamber that those of us who were here during the 102nd that I brought up this very idea and called for this bill to be called last General Assembly, because not only is it innovative and creative, it doesn't put it in anybody's backyard," Keicher said. "We have seen time and again in Norway, the UK, Ireland, and on the East Coast of the United States where offshore wind energy has not only been prolific and productive, it has remained in a place that can be easily removed without causing permanent damage to our landscape. What we saw with 4412 that the prior representative who voiced concerns about siting it spoke about, as we saw with 4412, that we are jamming siting down everybody's throat in rural Illinois, which is unfair, when we should be doing what this bill is seeking to do: exploring the opportunities where this has the least impact on our state and our people that reside not only in cities but in the country."

Keicher said the bill would benefit minority workers.

"I also want to highlight the excellence that this bill offers in giving good jobs to the Black and Brown communities on the South and West sides of Chicago that we have sought time and again, program after program, to offer the opportunities and we have struggled in rural Illinois to meet some of those requirements," Keicher said. "So I applaud you. I'm excited for where this bill will go and I thank you for being a voice in the wilderness.”

HB 2132 was first filed by state Rep. Marcus C. Evans, Jr. (D-Chicago), on Feb. 3, and it would create the Illinois Rust Belt to Green Belt Pilot Program Act, as well as a special fund in the State Treasury. According to the official bill synopsis, the fund "shall be used by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to encourage and facilitate the employment of construction workforces located in underrepresented populations." It would require those who are applying for a new utility-scale offshore wind project to file an "equity and inclusion plan" with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

"In provisions concerning the procurement of renewable energy credits, [HB 2132] provides that in addition to the amount of renewable energy credits to be procured from wind projects, the Illinois Power Agency shall procure at least 700,000 renewable energy credits, delivered annually for at least 20 years, from one new utility-scale offshore wind project," the synopsis reads.

“During the January lame-duck session, I called for this idea to promote offshore wind turbine development and called for this type of legislation to move forward,” Keicher said in a press release on his official website on Friday. “This is an innovative solution we’ve seen be successful in other countries for wind energy development that doesn’t lead to long-term degradation of the landscape. This approach is also a much better solution than the legislation passed in January under HB 4412, which I vehemently opposed due to the removal of local siting authority. Offshore has the least impact on our residents by not forcing anyone to have wind turbines thrown up in their backyard against their wishes, and it offers a win-win pathway forward. Even better still, this program takes advantage of federal infrastructure funding that will allow us to pursue these developments and create jobs without relying on state tax dollars.”