Full Text of HR0536 99th General Assembly
HR0536 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | HR0536 | | LRB099 12595 MST 36164 r |
|
| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Illinois has been a leader in energy production | 3 | | within the United States, in large part due to
Illinois' vast | 4 | | coal resources; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Illinois has the largest recoverable bituminous | 6 | | coal reserves in the United States, a reserve
base larger than | 7 | | all but 6 countries in the world, and the ability to produce | 8 | | all of America's electricity
needs for 100 years or Illinois' | 9 | | power needs for 600 years at current consumption rates; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Illinois is the largest electricity exporter in | 11 | | the Midwest and one of the largest in the United
States, and | 12 | | nearly 45% of Illinois' energy comes from coal-burning plants | 13 | | within the State; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Historically, the cost of electricity from coal | 15 | | has been the most economical on the basis of
dollars per | 16 | | megawatt hour produced and price fluctuations for coal have | 17 | | been much less than any other
fuel source; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Coal power plants in the United States have met | 19 | | the environmental challenges of the past
4 decades while | 20 | | meeting the low-cost energy needs of the nation, as coal used | 21 | | for electricity in the
United States has increased by 165% |
| | | HR0536 | - 2 - | LRB099 12595 MST 36164 r |
|
| 1 | | since 1970 while key emission rates have declined by 90%; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois coal industry is currently | 3 | | responsible for over $2,500,000,000 in annual economic
| 4 | | activity within the State, including employing roughly 5,000 | 5 | | miners with an average salary of $85,000 a
year, higher than | 6 | | both the United States and Illinois median household incomes; | 7 | | and | 8 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois coal industry has faced increased | 9 | | environmental regulations in the last 2
decades that resulted | 10 | | in coal production going from 62 million tons of mined coal in | 11 | | 1990 to a low of 31
million tons in 2003 and a loss of 6,500 | 12 | | direct jobs during this time period; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 imposed | 14 | | strict sulfur dioxide (S02) emission
standards, making coal | 15 | | mined in Illinois unusable without flue gas desulfurization | 16 | | (FGD) equipment,
often referred to as "scrubbers"; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Technology can be deployed that allows | 18 | | high-sulfur Illinois coal to be burned efficiently while
| 19 | | meeting strict State and federal air emission standards; | 20 | | specifically the State of Illinois should be
encouraging the | 21 | | retrofitting and use of advanced clean coal technologies such | 22 | | as flue gas
desulfurization, wet electro-static precipitators |
| | | HR0536 | - 3 - | LRB099 12595 MST 36164 r |
|
| 1 | | (wet ESPs), and oxy-combustion; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, All of the power plants in Illinois which now burn | 3 | | Wyoming coal were originally designed for
Illinois coal and the | 4 | | choice of technology was driven in part by the lack of | 5 | | certainty regarding the
recovery of investments in wet | 6 | | scrubbers; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, It is costing Illinois consumers more than | 8 | | $1,000,000,000 annually to import coal from other states,
| 9 | | primarily from Wyoming, while Illinois coal is being exported | 10 | | and used in other states in power plants
with scrubbers; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Using Illinois coal within Illinois would lead to | 12 | | substantial economic benefits by saving $1,000,000,000 in | 13 | | transportation costs and creating thousands of new jobs in | 14 | | mining and ancillary industries in currently economically | 15 | | depressed counties in central and southern Illinois and it | 16 | | would create more State and
local tax revenue; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Using Illinois coal within Illinois benefits the | 18 | | environment as well as the economy by reducing
C02 emissions | 19 | | through the use of higher rank coals and by reducing rail | 20 | | traffic by 50,000,000,000 ton-miles
annually; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, The recent growth in Illinois coal production has |
| | | HR0536 | - 4 - | LRB099 12595 MST 36164 r |
|
| 1 | | been due to considerable new investment in
the Illinois coal | 2 | | fields producing low cost coal and the retrofit of pollution | 3 | | control technology in power
plants throughout the United States | 4 | | in response to changes in the Clean Air Act mandating reduced | 5 | | air emissions; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The switch to Illinois coal will improve the | 7 | | competitiveness of Illinois power generation as
Illinois coal | 8 | | has a lower delivered cost, stable pricing, and higher heat | 9 | | content; once retrofitted with
advanced technology, Illinois | 10 | | power plants fired with Illinois coal should be more | 11 | | competitive in
electricity markets, thereby helping to insure | 12 | | the continued generation of competitive power for both
in-state | 13 | | customers and the out-of-state electricity market; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Much of the State of Illinois overlays the Mount | 15 | | Simon Sandstone, a saline filled, porous,
deep geological | 16 | | formation of enormous capacity that has been determined to be | 17 | | one of the most
significant carbon resources in the United | 18 | | States and its development could result in expanded use of | 19 | | Illinois coal
in a carbon-constrained world; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, It is vital that Illinois coal be considered part | 21 | | of an "All of the Above" approach to energy
production in order | 22 | | to keep Illinois as a leader in energy production, job | 23 | | creation, economic growth, and
environmental protection; |
| | | HR0536 | - 5 - | LRB099 12595 MST 36164 r |
|
| 1 | | therefore, be it
| 2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 3 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 4 | | urge the Illinois Commerce Commission prepare a report on the | 5 | | cost and
efficiency benefits of using Illinois coal at Illinois | 6 | | coal-burning plants, including any legislative
impediments and | 7 | | the impact on residential and commercial ratepayer; and be it | 8 | | further | 9 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Power Agency to prepare | 10 | | a report on the effect that burning Illinois
coal has on | 11 | | reliability and capacity for the Midwest region and the | 12 | | mechanisms that could be utilized to
provide cost recovery of | 13 | | incremental environmental investments to generators switching | 14 | | to Illinois coal; and be it further | 15 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the Department of Commerce and | 16 | | Economic Opportunity prepare a report on
the economic benefits | 17 | | and job creation potential from switching to Illinois coal and | 18 | | the result of more
coal production; and be it further | 19 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Environmental | 20 | | Protection Agency prepare a report on the
environmental impact | 21 | | (including reduced C02 emissions) of burning Illinois coal with | 22 | | the use of flue gas
desulfurization equipment, reduced rail |
| | | HR0536 | - 6 - | LRB099 12595 MST 36164 r |
|
| 1 | | travel and associated C02 emission reductions, more efficient
| 2 | | energy production as a result of Illinois coal's high energy | 3 | | density and the potential for the development of the carbon | 4 | | storage capacity of the Mount Simon Sandstone and the impact of | 5 | | bringing
Illinois air emission standards in line with those of | 6 | | the federal government; and be it further | 7 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Department of Revenue | 8 | | to prepare a report on the impact on State
and local taxes from | 9 | | Illinois power plants switching to Illinois coal; and be it | 10 | | further | 11 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the findings of those reports be | 12 | | presented to the General Assembly and the
Governor by October | 13 | | 1, 2015 for consideration and appropriate action; and be it | 14 | | further
| 15 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 16 | | delivered to Governor Bruce Rauner, the Illinois
Congressional | 17 | | Delegation, and all the members of the General Assembly.
|
|