As October’s six-day veto session in Illinois came to a close, legislators rushed to pass the energy omnibus Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability (CRGA) Act. It came down to the wire.
On the last day of the session, Illinois’ General Assembly passed the package of comprehensive energy reforms and sent it to Governor Pritzker, who signed the bill last week. At just over one thousand pages, CRGA covers significant ground as it improves and expands upon the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) passed in 2021.
Some highlights from the CRGA include:
- Integrated Resource Plan: Initiates development of a statewide energy roadmap.
- Battery Storage: Directs procurement of 3 GW of battery energy storage.
- Energy Efficiency and Weatherization: Expands rebates for efficiency upgrades and weatherization projects.
- Virtual Power Plant: Launches a new initiative to integrate distributed energy resources.
- Nuclear Power Development: Lifts the moratorium on new nuclear projects.
Beyond the Headlines: Siting and Permitting Get an Overhaul
The CRGA includes several key provisions that fly under the radar but are crucial to shaping Illinois’ renewable energy siting and permitting process.
In January 2023, Illinois enacted Public Law 102-1123, which directed counties to incorporate standards for siting and permitting wind and solar projects into zoning ordinances and required counties to approve renewable energy project applications that met the standards established in the law. These standards put guardrails on the types of requirements counties could impose on wind and solar projects, including setbacks, sound limits, fencing, project heights, and more.
Since 2023, most counties have complied with the law, but some have pushed back. There have been a series of lawsuits challenging certain provisions, and counties have sought to exploit loopholes by stretching permitting timelines, requiring developers pay astronomically high fees, or conditioning project approval on extractive road use agreements.
New provisions and amendments in CRGA address these specific concerns by clarifying the shot clock for public hearings, capping special use and building permit fees, and narrowing a county’s ability to require road use agreements. Across the board, these changes will accelerate local level project permitting and provide renewable energy developers with more certainty that they can economically bring these projects to ground—and that’s just the beginning.
The biggest siting and permitting update in the bill is a new set of requirements and standards for battery energy storage facilities. Mirroring much of the language for wind and solar, these new provisions in CRGA require that similar standards (setbacks, noise, sound limits, etc.) be adopted into county zoning ordinances for battery energy storage projects. The bill spells out safety and design standards for battery energy storage facilities, along with decommissioning and financial assurance requirements. The improvements in CRGA will make possible the massive battery energy procurement required by other provisions of the bill.
What’s Next: Building on CRGA’s Foundation
With CRGA, Illinois now joins the growing list of states that have passed laws related to renewable energy siting and permitting in 2025. While there’s plenty to celebrate, this shouldn’t mark the end of the state’s efforts to refine and improve its energy policies.
In future sessions, the state can and should take additional steps to improve siting outcomes at the local level through:
- Technical Assistance: Offer more support to local governments to implement the new siting and permitting provisions.
- Efficient Appeals and Review: Establish clear processes for streamlined appeals and judicial review.
- Local Revenue Support: Provide more predictable and substantial funding to local governments.
But for now, we celebrate. The reforms under CRGA are likely to accelerate deployment of batteries and bring crucial storage resources to the grid—which bodes well for new wind and solar construction and for countless communities across the state.