Full Text of HR0560 99th General Assembly
HR0560 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 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 50 years; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Illinois is a net exporter of electricity, the | 10 | | largest electricity exporter in the Midwest, and one of the | 11 | | largest in the United States; nearly 45% of Illinois' energy | 12 | | comes from coal-burning plants within the State; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Coal power plants in the United States have met | 14 | | the environmental challenges of the past 4 decades while | 15 | | meeting the low-cost energy needs of the nation; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois coal industry is currently
| 17 | | responsible for over $2,500,000,000 in annual economic
| 18 | | activity within the State, including employing approximately | 19 | | 5,000 miners with an average salary of $85,000 a year, higher | 20 | | than both the United States and Illinois median household | 21 | | incomes; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois coal industry has faced increased
| 2 | | environmental regulations in the last 2 decades that resulted
| 3 | | in coal production going from 62 million tons of mined coal in
| 4 | | 1990 to a low of 31 million tons in 2003 and a loss of 6,500
| 5 | | direct jobs during this time period; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 imposed
| 7 | | strict sulfur dioxide (S02) emission standards, making coal
| 8 | | mined in Illinois unusable without flue gas desulfurization
| 9 | | (FGD) equipment, often referred to as "scrubbers"; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Technology can be deployed that allows
| 11 | | high-sulfur Illinois coal to be burned efficiently while
| 12 | | meeting strict State and federal air emission standards;
| 13 | | specifically, the State of Illinois should be encouraging the
| 14 | | retrofitting and use of advanced clean coal technologies such
| 15 | | as flue gas desulfurization, wet electro-static precipitators | 16 | | (wet ESPs), and oxy-combustion; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Illinois currently exports coal to 18 states that | 18 | | utilize advanced clean coal technologies; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Illinois power plants currently use Wyoming coal | 20 | | despite the fact that advanced clean coal technology would | 21 | | allow the utilization of Illinois coal, saving Illinois |
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| 1 | | consumers 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,
| 4 | | primarily from Wyoming; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Using Illinois coal within Illinois would lead to
| 6 | | substantial economic benefits by saving $1,000,000,000 in
| 7 | | transportation costs and creating thousands of new jobs in
| 8 | | mining and ancillary industries in currently economically
| 9 | | depressed counties in central and southern Illinois while | 10 | | creating more State and local tax revenue; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Using Illinois coal within Illinois benefits the
| 12 | | environment as well as the economy by reducing C02 emissions
| 13 | | through the use of higher rank coals; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Switching to Illinois coal through the | 15 | | retrofitting and use of advanced clean coal technologies would | 16 | | reduce CO2 emissions by at least 4% annually because Illinois | 17 | | Basin Coal has a lower CO2 content than Wyoming coal, and an | 18 | | additional 20% reduction in CO2 emissions would result from the | 19 | | reduction in transportation related emissions annually; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, The recent growth in Illinois coal production has | 21 | | been due to approximately $10 billion in new investment in the |
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| 1 | | past 10 years in the Illinois coal fields producing low-cost | 2 | | coal and the retrofitting of pollution control technology in | 3 | | power plants throughout the United States in response to | 4 | | changes in the Clean Air Act mandating reduced air emissions; | 5 | | 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; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Illinois coal must be part of the solution to | 2 | | reducing the State's carbon emissions and complying with | 3 | | federal carbon emission requirements; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Sufficient studies have taken place, and the data | 5 | | is clear that Illinois power plants should be using Illinois | 6 | | coal; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Dynegy should offer to the people of the State of | 8 | | Illinois an explanation of its plans for its 10 coal-fired | 9 | | plants in Illinois; therefore, be it
| 10 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 11 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 12 | | urge the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the | 13 | | Illinois Commerce Commission, the Illinois Power Agency, the | 14 | | Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and | 15 | | the Illinois Department of Revenue to take action to implement | 16 | | the use of Illinois coal; and be it further
| 17 | | RESOLVED, That we urge all agencies and stakeholders | 18 | | developing strategies to comply with new federal carbon | 19 | | emissions requirements to utilize Illinois coal to reduce | 20 | | carbon emissions; and be it further |
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That we urge Dynegy to provide an explanation of | 2 | | its plans for its 10 coal-fired plants in Illinois to the | 3 | | General Assembly and Governor Rauner prior to June 14, 2015; | 4 | | and be it further | 5 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
| 6 | | delivered to Governor Bruce Rauner, the Illinois Congressional
| 7 | | delegation, and all the members of the General Assembly.
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