97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB1629

 

Introduced , by Rep. John E. Bradley

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
20 ILCS 3855/1-80

    Amends the Illinois Power Agency Act. Provides that any clean coal facility developed, financed, constructed, or operated by the Illinois Power Agency may be constructed within 10 miles of the Rend Lake Conservancy District in a county with unemployment above the State average as of the effective date of the amendatory Act. Further provides that the first facility that the Agency develops, finances, or constructs shall be a facility that uses coal that has high volatile bituminous rank and greater than 1.7 pounds of sulfur per million btu content (was, coal produced in Illinois). Makes other changes. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

HB1629LRB097 08897 ASK 49029 b

1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Power Agency Act is amended by
5changing Section 1-80 as follows:
 
6    (20 ILCS 3855/1-80)
7    Sec. 1-80. Resource Development Bureau. The Resource
8Development Bureau has the following duties and
9responsibilities:
10        (a) At the Agency's discretion, conduct feasibility
11    studies on the construction of any facility. Funding for a
12    study shall come from either:
13            (i) fees assessed by the Agency on municipal
14        electric systems, governmental aggregators, unit or
15        units of local government, or rural electric
16        cooperatives requesting the feasibility study; or
17            (ii) an appropriation from the General Assembly.
18        (b) If the Agency undertakes the construction of a
19    facility, moneys generated from the sale of revenue bonds
20    by the Authority for the facility shall be used to
21    reimburse the source of the money used for the facility's
22    feasibility study.
23        (c) The Agency may develop, finance, construct, or

 

 

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1    operate electric generation and co-generation facilities
2    that use indigenous coal or renewable resources, or both,
3    financed with bonds issued by the Authority on behalf of
4    the Agency. Any such facility that uses coal must be a
5    clean coal facility and, except as otherwise provided, must
6    be constructed in a location where the geology is suitable
7    for carbon sequestration. Any clean coal facility that is
8    developed, financed, constructed, or operated by the
9    Agency may be constructed within 10 miles of the Rend Lake
10    Conservancy District in a county with unemployment above
11    the State average as of the effective date of this
12    amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly. The Agency may
13    also develop, finance, construct, or operate a carbon
14    sequestration facility.
15            (1) The Agency may enter into contractual
16        arrangements with private and public entities,
17        including but not limited to municipal electric
18        systems, governmental aggregators, and rural electric
19        cooperatives, to plan, site, construct, improve,
20        rehabilitate, and operate those electric generation
21        and co-generation facilities. No contract shall be
22        entered into by the Agency that would jeopardize the
23        tax-exempt status of any bond issued in connection with
24        a project for which the Agency entered into the
25        contract.
26            (2) The Agency shall hold at least one public

 

 

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1        hearing before entering into any such contractual
2        arrangements. At least 30-days' notice of the hearing
3        shall be given by publication once in each week during
4        that period in 6 newspapers within the State, at least
5        one of which has a circulation area that includes the
6        location of the proposed facility.
7            (3) The first facility that the Agency develops,
8        finances, or constructs shall be a facility that uses
9        coal that has high volatile bituminous rank and greater
10        than 1.7 pounds of sulfur per million btu content
11        produced in Illinois. The Agency may, however, also
12        develop, finance, or construct renewable energy
13        facilities after work on the first facility has
14        commenced.
15            (4) The Agency may not develop, finance, or
16        construct a nuclear power plant.
17            (5) The Agency shall assess fees to applicants
18        seeking to partner with the Agency on projects.
19        (d) Use of electricity generated by the Agency's
20    facilities. The Agency may supply electricity produced by
21    the Agency's facilities to municipal electric systems,
22    governmental aggregators, or rural electric cooperatives
23    in Illinois. The electricity shall be supplied at cost.
24            (1) Contracts to supply power and energy from the
25        Agency's facilities shall provide for the effectuation
26        of the policies set forth in this Act.

 

 

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1            (2) The contracts shall also provide that,
2        notwithstanding any provision in the Public Utilities
3        Act, entities supplied with power and energy from an
4        Agency facility shall supply the power and energy to
5        retail customers at the same price paid to purchase
6        power and energy from the Agency.
7    (e) Electric utilities shall not be required to purchase
8electricity directly or indirectly from facilities developed
9or sponsored by the Agency.
10    (f) The Agency may sell excess capacity and excess energy
11into the wholesale electric market at prevailing market rates;
12provided, however, the Agency may not sell excess capacity or
13excess energy through the procurement process described in
14Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act.
15    (g) The Agency shall not directly sell electric power and
16energy to retail customers. Nothing in this paragraph shall be
17construed to prohibit sales to municipal electric systems,
18governmental aggregators, or rural electric cooperatives.
19(Source: P.A. 95-481, eff. 8-28-07; 95-1027, eff. 6-1-09.)
 
20    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
21becoming law.