{"id":19200,"date":"2019-05-30T12:38:33","date_gmt":"2019-05-30T16:38:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=19200"},"modified":"2019-07-08T13:00:05","modified_gmt":"2019-07-08T17:00:05","slug":"illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2019\/05\/30\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\/","title":{"rendered":"Illinois\u2019 Clean Energy Jobs Act taps power of energy efficiency"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Christie Hicks<\/a> and Andrew Barbeau<\/em><\/p>\n

This post is the fourth in our CEJA series<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The rollout of Illinois\u2019 Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) has focused attention on the bill\u2019s four main pillars: a 100% renewable energy target by 2050, the decarbonization of the state\u2019s power sector by 2030, the electrification<\/a> of the transportation sector and a focus on equity and economic justice<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a hidden gem of an opportunity in the bill that is just as promising as solar panels and electric cars: energy efficiency.<\/p>\n

Energy efficiency programs and technology are among the most cost-effective routes to lower climate emissions and energy bills. And just like solar, wind and other clean energy tools, it\u2019s a job creator<\/a>. CEJA recognizes and capitalizes on that potential.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

First, CEJA will reverse a 2016 decision<\/a> by then-Governor Bruce Rauner that exempted large commercial and industrial customers from utilities\u2019 energy efficiency programs. That wrong-headed move meant that some of the state\u2019s biggest customers \u2014 huge firms like ADM and Caterpillar \u2014 don\u2019t have to pay into energy efficiency programs. And it also means that some customers, such as hospitals and some cities, cannot participate even though they might want to.<\/p>\nIllinois\u2019 Clean Energy Jobs Act taps power of energy efficiency <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n

Second, it provides for transparent utility investment planning that prioritizes new, efficiency-focused technologies where utilities would otherwise invest in traditional infrastructure. Rather than solely relying on new poles and wires, substations or pipelines, utilities would be required to consider whether efficiency and clean energy alternatives can meet the same needs \u2013 potentially at significant cost savings for customers.<\/p>\n

One of the greatest opportunities for energy efficiency is in low-income home retrofits.
\nSealing homes and replacing inefficient windows and appliances saves energy and money. Unfortunately, we have seen a high number of \u201cwalk aways\u201d in recent years \u2013 energy efficiency installers will go to a low-income home to perform an upgrade, but will walk away because they detect health or safety violations, such as asbestos, a leaky roof or something else that they alone cannot solve and the homeowner can\u2019t afford.<\/p>\n

CEJA includes a new Health and Safety Fund that will supplement necessary safety improvements so low-income residential and non-profit buildings don\u2019t miss out on important efficiency opportunities because of budget concerns. As a result, we can make a home or building safer, healthier and more efficient all at once \u2013 and not have to abandon projects.<\/p>\n

The legislation also calls for more program bundling and closer coordination of energy efficiency, Illinois Solar For All<\/a> and electrification incentives with low-income assistance programs such as Low Inclome Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Percentage of Inclome Payment Plan Plus (PIPP) and utility hardship programs. This coordinated strategy will better serve the people who need help the most.<\/p>\n

Energy efficiency should form the basis of any robust clean energy policy, and it will with CEJA. The cheapest, cleanest energy is the energy we don\u2019t use. EDF urges Illinois legislators to make use of this abundant Illinois resource.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Christie Hicks and Andrew Barbeau This post is the fourth in our CEJA series. The rollout of Illinois\u2019 Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) has focused attention on the bill\u2019s four main pillars: a 100% renewable energy target by 2050, the decarbonization of the state\u2019s power sector by 2030, the electrification of the transportation sector …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[113415,254,28800],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-19200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ceja","category-energy-efficiency","category-ohio"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIllinois\u2019 Clean Energy Jobs Act taps power of energy efficiency - Energy Exchange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2019\/05\/30\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Illinois\u2019 Clean Energy Jobs Act taps power of energy efficiency - Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Christie Hicks and Andrew Barbeau This post is the fourth in our CEJA series. The rollout of Illinois\u2019 Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) has focused attention on the bill\u2019s four main pillars: a 100% renewable energy target by 2050, the decarbonization of the state\u2019s power sector by 2030, the electrification of the transportation sector ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2019\/05\/30\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-05-30T16:38:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-07-08T17:00:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2019\/05\/CEJA_4-300x200.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"EDF Blogs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"EDF Blogs\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/30\\\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/30\\\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"EDF Blogs\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/aae063915aaf10301a322185853c51d3\"},\"headline\":\"Illinois\u2019 Clean Energy Jobs Act taps power of energy efficiency\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-30T16:38:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-07-08T17:00:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/30\\\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":514,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/30\\\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/CEJA_4-300x200.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"CEJA\",\"Energy Efficiency\",\"Ohio\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/30\\\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/30\\\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/30\\\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\\\/\",\"name\":\"Illinois\u2019 Clean Energy Jobs Act taps power of energy efficiency - Energy Exchange\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/30\\\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/30\\\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/CEJA_4-300x200.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-30T16:38:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-07-08T17:00:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/aae063915aaf10301a322185853c51d3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/30\\\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/30\\\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/30\\\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/CEJA_4-300x200.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/CEJA_4-300x200.png\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/30\\\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Illinois\u2019 Clean Energy Jobs Act taps power of energy efficiency\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/\",\"name\":\"Energy Exchange\",\"description\":\"Accelerating the clean energy revolution\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/aae063915aaf10301a322185853c51d3\",\"name\":\"EDF Blogs\",\"description\":\"From time to time, the Energy Exchange blog includes posts from infrequent contributors, such as other EDF scientists and staff. Since these authors vary, we use this standard author bio profile for guest posts. For more information about this author, please see his\\\/her link at the beginning of the post.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.edf.org\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Illinois\u2019 Clean Energy Jobs Act taps power of energy efficiency - Energy Exchange","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2019\/05\/30\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Illinois\u2019 Clean Energy Jobs Act taps power of energy efficiency - Energy Exchange","og_description":"By Christie Hicks and Andrew Barbeau This post is the fourth in our CEJA series. The rollout of Illinois\u2019 Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) has focused attention on the bill\u2019s four main pillars: a 100% renewable energy target by 2050, the decarbonization of the state\u2019s power sector by 2030, the electrification of the transportation sector ...","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2019\/05\/30\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\/","og_site_name":"Energy Exchange","article_published_time":"2019-05-30T16:38:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-07-08T17:00:05+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2019\/05\/CEJA_4-300x200.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"EDF Blogs","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"EDF Blogs","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2019\/05\/30\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2019\/05\/30\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\/"},"author":{"name":"EDF Blogs","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#\/schema\/person\/aae063915aaf10301a322185853c51d3"},"headline":"Illinois\u2019 Clean Energy Jobs Act taps power of energy efficiency","datePublished":"2019-05-30T16:38:33+00:00","dateModified":"2019-07-08T17:00:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2019\/05\/30\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\/"},"wordCount":514,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2019\/05\/30\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2019\/05\/CEJA_4-300x200.png","articleSection":["CEJA","Energy Efficiency","Ohio"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2019\/05\/30\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2019\/05\/30\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2019\/05\/30\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\/","name":"Illinois\u2019 Clean Energy Jobs Act taps power of energy efficiency - Energy Exchange","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2019\/05\/30\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2019\/05\/30\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2019\/05\/CEJA_4-300x200.png","datePublished":"2019-05-30T16:38:33+00:00","dateModified":"2019-07-08T17:00:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#\/schema\/person\/aae063915aaf10301a322185853c51d3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2019\/05\/30\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2019\/05\/30\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2019\/05\/30\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2019\/05\/CEJA_4-300x200.png","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2019\/05\/CEJA_4-300x200.png"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2019\/05\/30\/illinois-clean-energy-jobs-act-taps-power-of-energy-efficiency\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Illinois\u2019 Clean Energy Jobs Act taps power of energy efficiency"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/","name":"Energy Exchange","description":"Accelerating the clean energy revolution","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#\/schema\/person\/aae063915aaf10301a322185853c51d3","name":"EDF Blogs","description":"From time to time, the Energy Exchange blog includes posts from infrequent contributors, such as other EDF scientists and staff. Since these authors vary, we use this standard author bio profile for guest posts. For more information about this author, please see his\/her link at the beginning of the post.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.edf.org"],"url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19200\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19200"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=19200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}