HR0536 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0536 LRB099 12595 MST 36164 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Illinois has been a leader in energy production within the United States, in large part due to Illinois' vast coal resources; and

WHEREAS, Illinois has the largest recoverable bituminous coal reserves in the United States, a reserve base larger than all but 6 countries in the world, and the ability to produce all of America's electricity needs for 100 years or Illinois' power needs for 600 years at current consumption rates; and

WHEREAS, Illinois is the largest electricity exporter in the Midwest and one of the largest in the United States, and nearly 45% of Illinois' energy comes from coal-burning plants within the State; and

WHEREAS, Historically, the cost of electricity from coal has been the most economical on the basis of dollars per megawatt hour produced and price fluctuations for coal have been much less than any other fuel source; and

WHEREAS, Coal power plants in the United States have met the environmental challenges of the past 4 decades while meeting the low-cost energy needs of the nation, as coal used for electricity in the United States has increased by 165% since 1970 while key emission rates have declined by 90%; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois coal industry is currently responsible for over $2,500,000,000 in annual economic activity within the State, including employing roughly 5,000 miners with an average salary of $85,000 a year, higher than both the United States and Illinois median household incomes; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois coal industry has faced increased environmental regulations in the last 2 decades that resulted in coal production going from 62 million tons of mined coal in 1990 to a low of 31 million tons in 2003 and a loss of 6,500 direct jobs during this time period; and

WHEREAS, The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 imposed strict sulfur dioxide (S02) emission standards, making coal mined in Illinois unusable without flue gas desulfurization (FGD) equipment, often referred to as "scrubbers"; and

WHEREAS, Technology can be deployed that allows high-sulfur Illinois coal to be burned efficiently while meeting strict State and federal air emission standards; specifically the State of Illinois should be encouraging the retrofitting and use of advanced clean coal technologies such as flue gas desulfurization, wet electro-static precipitators (wet ESPs), and oxy-combustion; and

WHEREAS, All of the power plants in Illinois which now burn Wyoming coal were originally designed for Illinois coal and the choice of technology was driven in part by the lack of certainty regarding the recovery of investments in wet scrubbers; and

WHEREAS, It is costing Illinois consumers more than $1,000,000,000 annually to import coal from other states, primarily from Wyoming, while Illinois coal is being exported and used in other states in power plants with scrubbers; and

WHEREAS, Using Illinois coal within Illinois would lead to substantial economic benefits by saving $1,000,000,000 in transportation costs and creating thousands of new jobs in mining and ancillary industries in currently economically depressed counties in central and southern Illinois and it would create more State and local tax revenue; and

WHEREAS, Using Illinois coal within Illinois benefits the environment as well as the economy by reducing C02 emissions through the use of higher rank coals and by reducing rail traffic by 50,000,000,000 ton-miles annually; and

WHEREAS, The recent growth in Illinois coal production has been due to considerable new investment in the Illinois coal fields producing low cost coal and the retrofit of pollution control technology in power plants throughout the United States in response to changes in the Clean Air Act mandating reduced air emissions; and

WHEREAS, The switch to Illinois coal will improve the competitiveness of Illinois power generation as Illinois coal has a lower delivered cost, stable pricing, and higher heat content; once retrofitted with advanced technology, Illinois power plants fired with Illinois coal should be more competitive in electricity markets, thereby helping to insure the continued generation of competitive power for both in-state customers and the out-of-state electricity market; and

WHEREAS, Much of the State of Illinois overlays the Mount Simon Sandstone, a saline filled, porous, deep geological formation of enormous capacity that has been determined to be one of the most significant carbon resources in the United States and its development could result in expanded use of Illinois coal in a carbon-constrained world; and

WHEREAS, It is vital that Illinois coal be considered part of an "All of the Above" approach to energy production in order to keep Illinois as a leader in energy production, job creation, economic growth, and environmental protection; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Illinois Commerce Commission prepare a report on the cost and efficiency benefits of using Illinois coal at Illinois coal-burning plants, including any legislative impediments and the impact on residential and commercial ratepayer; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Power Agency to prepare a report on the effect that burning Illinois coal has on reliability and capacity for the Midwest region and the mechanisms that could be utilized to provide cost recovery of incremental environmental investments to generators switching to Illinois coal; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity prepare a report on the economic benefits and job creation potential from switching to Illinois coal and the result of more coal production; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency prepare a report on the environmental impact (including reduced C02 emissions) of burning Illinois coal with the use of flue gas desulfurization equipment, reduced rail travel and associated C02 emission reductions, more efficient energy production as a result of Illinois coal's high energy density and the potential for the development of the carbon storage capacity of the Mount Simon Sandstone and the impact of bringing Illinois air emission standards in line with those of the federal government; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Department of Revenue to prepare a report on the impact on State and local taxes from Illinois power plants switching to Illinois coal; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the findings of those reports be presented to the General Assembly and the Governor by October 1, 2015 for consideration and appropriate action; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to Governor Bruce Rauner, the Illinois Congressional Delegation, and all the members of the General Assembly.