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1		HOUSE RESOLUTION
2		WHEREAS, Illinois has been a leader in energy production
3		within the United States, in large part due to Illinois' vast
4		coal resources; and
5		WHEREAS, Illinois has the largest recoverable bituminous
6		coal reserves in the United States, a reserve base larger than
7		all but 6 countries in the world, and the ability to produce
8		all of America's electricity needs for 50 years; and
9		WHEREAS, Illinois is a net exporter of electricity, the
10		largest electricity exporter in the Midwest, and one of the
11		largest in the United States; nearly 45% of Illinois' energy
12		comes from coal-burning plants within the State; and
13		WHEREAS, Coal power plants in the United States have met
14		the environmental challenges of the past 4 decades while
15		meeting the low-cost energy needs of the nation; and
16		WHEREAS, The Illinois coal industry is currently
17		responsible for over $2,500,000,000 in annual economic
18		activity within the State, including employing approximately
19		5,000 miners with an average salary of $85,000 a year, higher
20		than both the United States and Illinois median household
21		incomes; and

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1		WHEREAS, The Illinois coal industry has faced increased
2		environmental regulations in the last 2 decades that resulted
3		in coal production going from 62 million tons of mined coal in
4		1990 to a low of 31 million tons in 2003 and a loss of 6,500
5		direct jobs during this time period; and
6		WHEREAS, The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 imposed
7		strict sulfur dioxide (S02) emission standards, making coal
8		mined in Illinois unusable without flue gas desulfurization
9		(FGD) equipment, often referred to as "scrubbers"; and
10		WHEREAS, Technology can be deployed that allows
11		high-sulfur Illinois coal to be burned efficiently while
12		meeting strict State and federal air emission standards;
13		specifically, the State of Illinois should be encouraging the
14		retrofitting and use of advanced clean coal technologies such
15		as flue gas desulfurization, wet electro-static precipitators
16		(wet ESPs), and oxy-combustion; and
17		WHEREAS, Illinois currently exports coal to 18 states that
18		utilize advanced clean coal technologies; and
19		WHEREAS, Illinois power plants currently use Wyoming coal
20		despite the fact that advanced clean coal technology would
21		allow the utilization of Illinois coal, saving Illinois

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1		consumers hundreds of millions of dollars; and
2		WHEREAS, It is costing Illinois consumers more than
3		$1,000,000,000 annually to import coal from other states,
4		primarily from Wyoming; and
5		WHEREAS, Using Illinois coal within Illinois would lead to
6		substantial economic benefits by saving $1,000,000,000 in
7		transportation costs and creating thousands of new jobs in
8		mining and ancillary industries in currently economically
9		depressed counties in central and southern Illinois while
10		creating more State and local tax revenue; and
11		WHEREAS, Using Illinois coal within Illinois benefits the
12		environment as well as the economy by reducing C02 emissions
13		through the use of higher rank coals; and
14		WHEREAS, Switching to Illinois coal through the
15		retrofitting and use of advanced clean coal technologies would
16		reduce CO2 emissions by at least 4% annually because Illinois
17		Basin Coal has a lower CO2 content than Wyoming coal, and an
18		additional 20% reduction in CO2 emissions would result from the
19		reduction in transportation related emissions annually; and
20		WHEREAS, The recent growth in Illinois coal production has
21		been due to approximately $10 billion in new investment in the

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1		past 10 years in the Illinois coal fields producing low-cost
2		coal and the retrofitting of pollution control technology in
3		power plants throughout the United States in response to
4		changes in the Clean Air Act mandating reduced air emissions;
5		and
6		WHEREAS, The switch to Illinois coal will improve the
7		competitiveness of Illinois power generation as Illinois coal
8		has a lower delivered cost, stable pricing, and higher heat
9		content; once retrofitted with advanced technology, Illinois
10		power plants fired with Illinois coal should be more
11		competitive in electricity markets, thereby helping to insure
12		the continued generation of competitive power for both in-state
13		customers and the out-of-state electricity market; and
14		WHEREAS, Much of the State of Illinois overlays the Mount
15		Simon Sandstone, a saline-filled, porous, deep geological
16		formation of enormous capacity that has been determined to be
17		one of the most significant carbon resources in the United
18		States, and its development could result in expanded use of
19		Illinois coal in a carbon-constrained world; and
20		WHEREAS, It is vital that Illinois coal be considered part
21		of an "All of the Above" approach to energy production in order
22		to keep Illinois as a leader in energy production, job
23		creation, economic growth, and environmental protection; and

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1		WHEREAS, Illinois coal must be part of the solution to
2		reducing the State's carbon emissions and complying with
3		federal carbon emission requirements; and
4		WHEREAS, Sufficient studies have taken place, and the data
5		is clear that Illinois power plants should be using Illinois
6		coal; and
7		WHEREAS, Dynegy should offer to the people of the State of
8		Illinois an explanation of its plans for its 10 coal-fired
9		plants in Illinois; therefore, be it
10		RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
11		NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
12		urge the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the
13		Illinois Commerce Commission, the Illinois Power Agency, the
14		Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and
15		the Illinois Department of Revenue to take action to implement
16		the use of Illinois coal; and be it further
17		RESOLVED, That we urge all agencies and stakeholders
18		developing strategies to comply with new federal carbon
19		emissions requirements to utilize Illinois coal to reduce
20		carbon emissions; and be it further

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1		RESOLVED, That we urge Dynegy to provide an explanation of
2		its plans for its 10 coal-fired plants in Illinois to the
3		General Assembly and Governor Rauner prior to June 14, 2015;
4		and be it further
5		RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
6		delivered to Governor Bruce Rauner, the Illinois Congressional
7		delegation, and all the members of the General Assembly.