HR0560LRB099 12657 MST 36348 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Illinois has been a leader in energy production
3within the United States, in large part due to Illinois' vast
4coal resources; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Illinois has the largest recoverable bituminous
6coal reserves in the United States, a reserve base larger than
7all but 6 countries in the world, and the ability to produce
8all of America's electricity needs for 50 years; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Illinois is a net exporter of electricity, the
10largest electricity exporter in the Midwest, and one of the
11largest in the United States; nearly 45% of Illinois' energy
12comes from coal-burning plants within the State; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Coal power plants in the United States have met
14the environmental challenges of the past 4 decades while
15meeting the low-cost energy needs of the nation; and
 
16    WHEREAS, The Illinois coal industry is currently
17responsible for over $2,500,000,000 in annual economic
18activity within the State, including employing approximately
195,000 miners with an average salary of $85,000 a year, higher
20than both the United States and Illinois median household
21incomes; and
 

 

 

HR0560- 2 -LRB099 12657 MST 36348 r

1    WHEREAS, The Illinois coal industry has faced increased
2environmental regulations in the last 2 decades that resulted
3in coal production going from 62 million tons of mined coal in
41990 to a low of 31 million tons in 2003 and a loss of 6,500
5direct jobs during this time period; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 imposed
7strict sulfur dioxide (S02) emission standards, making coal
8mined in Illinois unusable without flue gas desulfurization
9(FGD) equipment, often referred to as "scrubbers"; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Technology can be deployed that allows
11high-sulfur Illinois coal to be burned efficiently while
12meeting strict State and federal air emission standards;
13specifically, the State of Illinois should be encouraging the
14retrofitting and use of advanced clean coal technologies such
15as flue gas desulfurization, wet electro-static precipitators
16(wet ESPs), and oxy-combustion; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Illinois currently exports coal to 18 states that
18utilize advanced clean coal technologies; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Illinois power plants currently use Wyoming coal
20despite the fact that advanced clean coal technology would
21allow the utilization of Illinois coal, saving Illinois

 

 

HR0560- 3 -LRB099 12657 MST 36348 r

1consumers hundreds of millions of dollars; and
 
2    WHEREAS, It is costing Illinois consumers more than
3$1,000,000,000 annually to import coal from other states,
4primarily from Wyoming; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Using Illinois coal within Illinois would lead to
6substantial economic benefits by saving $1,000,000,000 in
7transportation costs and creating thousands of new jobs in
8mining and ancillary industries in currently economically
9depressed counties in central and southern Illinois while
10creating more State and local tax revenue; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Using Illinois coal within Illinois benefits the
12environment as well as the economy by reducing C02 emissions
13through the use of higher rank coals; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Switching to Illinois coal through the
15retrofitting and use of advanced clean coal technologies would
16reduce CO2 emissions by at least 4% annually because Illinois
17Basin Coal has a lower CO2 content than Wyoming coal, and an
18additional 20% reduction in CO2 emissions would result from the
19reduction in transportation related emissions annually; and
 
20    WHEREAS, The recent growth in Illinois coal production has
21been due to approximately $10 billion in new investment in the

 

 

HR0560- 4 -LRB099 12657 MST 36348 r

1past 10 years in the Illinois coal fields producing low-cost
2coal and the retrofitting of pollution control technology in
3power plants throughout the United States in response to
4changes in the Clean Air Act mandating reduced air emissions;
5and
 
6    WHEREAS, The switch to Illinois coal will improve the
7competitiveness of Illinois power generation as Illinois coal
8has a lower delivered cost, stable pricing, and higher heat
9content; once retrofitted with advanced technology, Illinois
10power plants fired with Illinois coal should be more
11competitive in electricity markets, thereby helping to insure
12the continued generation of competitive power for both in-state
13customers and the out-of-state electricity market; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Much of the State of Illinois overlays the Mount
15Simon Sandstone, a saline-filled, porous, deep geological
16formation of enormous capacity that has been determined to be
17one of the most significant carbon resources in the United
18States, and its development could result in expanded use of
19Illinois coal in a carbon-constrained world; and
 
20    WHEREAS, It is vital that Illinois coal be considered part
21of an "All of the Above" approach to energy production in order
22to keep Illinois as a leader in energy production, job
23creation, economic growth, and environmental protection; and
 

 

 

HR0560- 5 -LRB099 12657 MST 36348 r

1    WHEREAS, Illinois coal must be part of the solution to
2reducing the State's carbon emissions and complying with
3federal carbon emission requirements; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Sufficient studies have taken place, and the data
5is clear that Illinois power plants should be using Illinois
6coal; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Dynegy should offer to the people of the State of
8Illinois an explanation of its plans for its 10 coal-fired
9plants in Illinois; therefore, be it
 
10    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
11NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
12urge the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the
13Illinois Commerce Commission, the Illinois Power Agency, the
14Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and
15the Illinois Department of Revenue to take action to implement
16the use of Illinois coal; and be it further
 
17    RESOLVED, That we urge all agencies and stakeholders
18developing strategies to comply with new federal carbon
19emissions requirements to utilize Illinois coal to reduce
20carbon emissions; and be it further
 

 

 

HR0560- 6 -LRB099 12657 MST 36348 r

1    RESOLVED, That we urge Dynegy to provide an explanation of
2its plans for its 10 coal-fired plants in Illinois to the
3General Assembly and Governor Rauner prior to June 14, 2015;
4and be it further
 
5    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
6delivered to Governor Bruce Rauner, the Illinois Congressional
7delegation, and all the members of the General Assembly.