Energy

Amends the Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, and Coal Resources Development Law of 1997. Extends the repeal of the Act until December 31, 2030. Effective immediately.

Amends the Renewable Energy Facilities Agricultural Impact Mitigation Act. Changes the short title of the Act to the Agricultural Impact Mitigation Act. Makes conforming changes in the Illinois Power Agency Act and the Illinois Municipal Code. Makes the Agricultural Impact Mitigation Act's agricultural impact mitigation agreement provisions applicable to commercial wind energy facilities, battery energy storage systems, pipelines, and electric lines. Describes information to be included in the agricultural impact mitigation agreements. Requires each construction or destruction project to undergo inspection by an agricultural inspector. Authorizes the Department of Agriculture to temporarily halt construction, deconstruction, or other activities on a project upon its finding of noncompliance with the provisions of an agricultural impact mitigation agreement. Defines terms. Effective immediately.

Amends the Township Code. Provides that a township may regulate commercial wind energy facilities, commercial solar energy facilities, or both. Provides that a township may use any of its zoning powers in the regulation of commercial wind energy facilities and commercial solar energy facilities and may prohibit commercial wind energy facilities, commercial solar energy facilities, or both. Provides that a township's regulations over commercial wind energy facilities and commercial solar energy facilities shall prevail over county regulations but not over municipal regulations. Defines terms. Amends the Renewable Energy Facilities Agricultural Impact Mitigation Act making conforming changes. Effective immediately.

Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that the fair cash value of commercial energy storage system improvements in counties with fewer than 3,000,000 inhabitants shall be determined by subtracting the allowance for physical depreciation from the commercial energy storage system trended real property cost basis. Provides that those commercial energy storage systems are not subject to equalization factors applied by the Department of Revenue or by any board of review, assessor, or chief county assessment officer. Provides that the owner of the commercial energy storage system shall commission a metes and bounds survey description of the land upon which the commercial energy storage system is located. Contains other provisions concerning the assessment of commercial energy storage systems. Effective immediately.

Makes appropriations from the Illinois Power Agency Operations Fund, the Illinois Power Agency Renewable Resources Fund, and the Illinois Power Agency Trust Fund to the Illinois Power Agency. Effective July 1, 2025.

Amends the Renewable Energy Production District Act. Changes the definition of "renewable energy facility" to include, among other things, small modular reactors. Defines "small modular reactor". Effective immediately.

Amends the Energy Transition Act. Adds electrification industries to clean energy jobs. Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that a gas utility may cease providing service if the Illinois Commerce Commission determines that adequate substitute service is available at a reasonable cost to support the existing end uses of the affected utility customers. Provides for cost-effective energy efficiency measures for natural gas utilities that supersede existing provisions concerning natural gas energy efficiency programs and take effect beginning January 1, 2025. Provides that gas main and gas service extension policies shall be based on the principle that the full incremental cost associated with new development and growth shall be borne by the customers that cause those incremental costs. Provides that, no later than 60 days after the effective date of the amendatory Act, the Commission shall initiate a docketed rulemaking reviewing each gas public utility tariff that provides for gas main and gas service extensions without additional charge to new customers in excess of the default extensions as specified in administrative rule. Adds the Clean Building Heating Law Article to the Act, with provisions concerning emissions standards for heating in buildings, as well as related and other provisions. Adds the 2050 Heat Decarbonization Standard Article to the Act, with provisions concerning options for compliance, measures for customer emission reduction, customer emission reductions, tradable clean heat credits, banking of emission reductions, equity in emission reductions, enforcement, the 2050 Heat Decarbonization Pathways Study, gas infrastructure planning, a study on gas utility financial incentive reform, and reporting requirements. Adds the Statewide Navigator Program Law Article to the Act, with provisions concerning creation of a statewide navigator program, as well as related and other provisions. Effective immediately.

Amends the Public Utilities Act. Creates the virtual power plant program. Defines terms. Provides that, within 60 days after the effective date of the amendatory provisions, each electric utility serving more than 300,000 customers as of January 1, 2025 shall propose one or more tariffs applicable to demand response technologies. Sets forth requirements for the content of the tariffs. Provides that the Illinois Commerce Commission shall approve or approve with modifications the tariffs filed by each utility within 240 days of filing. Provides that, not more than 6 months after 2 full delivery years of operation of the tariffs, the Commission shall issue a report to the General Assembly assessing the value and efficacy of the demand response virtual power plant program, including proposals for expansions or modifications. Provides that the Commission shall implement the amendatory provisions in a complementary manner with other virtual power plant programs under the Commission's jurisdiction in order to make the programs available to utility customers compatible for the benefit of the electric grid and to enhance electric service reliability. Makes other changes.

Amends the Counties Code. Provides that a commercial wind energy facility owner or solar energy facility owner must file a land reclamation plan and a recycling plan with the Department of Agriculture prior to the required public hearing on the siting of a facility. Provides that the land reclamation plan must outline how the property on which a facility has been constructed will be returned to the state the property existed prior to the construction of the facility upon removal of the facility. Provides that the recycling plan must outline how the material used to construct the facility will be recycled. Provides that a commercial solar energy facility may not be sited on property where the property's soil's crop productivity index is greater than 110. Effective immediately.

Amends the Public Utilities Act. In provisions regarding a certificate of public convenience and necessity, makes changes to the limitations on the construction of a nuclear power reactor. Provides that, beginning January 1, 2026, construction may commence on an advanced nuclear reactor (rather than a new nuclear power reactor with a nameplate capacity of 300 megawatts of electricity or less) within the State under specified conditions. Defines "advanced nuclear reactor". Makes other changes.