Illinois

Electric vehicles

Chicago-area mayors push ahead on EVs despite federal pullback

Trump funding cuts scrambled the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus' plans to deploy chargers, but the group is redoubling other efforts to boost EV adoption.

By Kari Lydersen . 24 November 2025
Energy storage

Illinois lawmakers just passed another big clean-energy bill

Batteries are the centerpiece of the state’s third major piece of energy legislation in a decade. The governor has pledged to sign the bill.

By Kari Lydersen . 31 October 2025
Solar

Interconnection bottleneck threatens community solar success in Illinois

One of the state’s largest utilities, Ameren, takes years to approve projects. That’s creating headaches for developers racing to use expiring federal tax credits.

By Kari Lydersen . 1 October 2025
Energy markets

Why states are threatening to leave PJM — and why they probably won’t

The grid operator’s high power prices and long interconnection queue have Democratic and Republican governors eyeing an exit, but analysts warn it could backfire.

By Kathryn Krawczyk . 26 September 2025
Virtual power plants

Virtual power plants may soon provide more electricity to Illinois’ grid

The state has tons of solar, thanks to past laws. Now, legislators are weighing incentives for home batteries that can give the grid clean power in times of need.

By Kari Lydersen . 25 September 2025
Solar

Illinois' push to train workers for solar industry jobs is paying off

A state-funded hub for clean energy workforce development is creating employment and business opportunities in the surrounding community.

By Kari Lydersen . 12 September 2025
Solar

Illinois farmers find that sheep and solar arrays go well together

The agrivoltaics practice of raising sheep under solar panels is a win-win for Illinois farmers — but first the market for lamb meat needs to grow.

By Kari Lydersen . 11 September 2025
Electric vehicles

Can EV ambassadors help Chicago drivers go electric?

Aiming to help Illinois get 1 million EVs on the road by 2030, the state’s largest utility is tapping community leaders to convince neighbors to ditch gas cars.

By Kari Lydersen . 5 August 2025
Energy storage

An Illinois bill seeking to supercharge battery storage failed. Now what?

Supporters hoped the legislation would accelerate the state’s clean energy transition, but it stalled amid opposition from unions, farmers, and fossil-fuel groups.

By Kari Lydersen . 16 June 2025
Clean industry

This startup turns steel and aluminum waste into usable metals

Chicago-area Sun Metalon removes gunk and grime from metal slivers normally thrown away, helping to reduce emissions from aluminum and steel production.

By Kari Lydersen . 9 June 2025