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An Actionable, Affordable Plan to Repurpose Illinois Power Plants Into Renewable Energy Centers
RETAIN, REPURPOSE, AND REINVEST IN EXISTING PLANTS ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
The Illinois Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Act is a responsible transition plan tailor-made for central and southern Illinois. Retaining, repurposing and renewing existing power plant sites across central and southern Illinois will unlock tremendous economic and environmental benefits including:
$450M
Reinvestment
Vistra would invest up to $450 million in shovel-ready projects to build utility-scale solar and energy storage at its plants.
150MW
New Energy Storage
Illinois would become the Midwest leader in battery energy storage and have one of the largest storage networks in the nation.
300 MW
MW New Utility-Scale Solar
An estimated 750,000 solar panels would provide enough emission-free electricity to power 300,000 homes across Illinois.
2,000
Construction Jobs
The shovel-ready investment would support approximately 2,000 union construction jobs and thousands in the clean energy supply chain.
A PLAN TO HELP MAINTAIN GRID AND PRICE STABILITY
Since 2015 approximately 4,700 MW – enough power for 2.3 million homes – of electricity generation capacity has closed or will close in the downstate Illinois MISO Zone 4 market. This has cost workers their jobs and reduced the supply of in-state generation. More plants are at risk of closing soon. The Act has a responsible transition plan for remaining downstate plants, tied to market prices, to keep 2,200 MW of existing in-state generation capacity that is at-risk of premature closure in operation through 2025. This gives more time for additional in-state renewable generation to be planned, built and connected to the grid. In 2025, market conditions and other policy decisions will determine the future of the remaining legacy coal plants.
PROVIDING AN ORDERLY RETIREMENT PROCESS FOR ENERGY WORKERS AND PLANT COMMUNITIES
Retaining up to 2,200 MW of at-risk generation through 2025 doesn’t just help maintain grid and price stability, it’s fair to workers, families and communities across central and southern Illinois. Through no fault of their own, energy workers who have helped power Illinois for decades face a difficult transition. The plants are at-risk and the Act will ensure that premature closures are avoided.
Investing $450 million at legacy plant sites helps local communities by replacing at-risk sources of property taxes with new, valuable renewable energy resources. Communities will benefit from an estimated increase in fleet-wide annual property property taxes that are 20% more compared to current levels.