By Yann Brandt, Managing Editor

In this episode of the Energy Wakeup podcast, we sat down with Brad Klein, senior attorney with the Environmental Law and Policy Center. He and the team at ELPC were instrumental in bringing Illinois’ Future Energy Jobs Act of 2016, and Klein takes us behind the scenes to discuss exactly what that process – long and arduous as it sometimes was – looked like.

Whether it was the threatened closure of nuclear plants or the coal industry piping up near the end of the process to get involved, Klein says what ultimately brought about the law was the willingness of the solar industry, in conjunction with community organizations and environmental justice groups, to stick together in the face of overwhelming pressure from well-organized opponents. He says it would have been easy to cut several different deals among the different participants, and the utilities are skilled at making that happen. But no one on the solar side blinked, and that’s why the bill has such a strong solar component to it.

Listen to the whole discussion to hear Klein discuss the details of the negotiations and why, despite some early growing pains and speed bumps along the way, he believes the Future Energy Jobs Act has laid the foundation for a strong, vibrant solar industry in Illinois for years to come.

By Yann Brandt, Managing Editor

In this episode of the Energy Wakeup podcast, we sat down with Anthony Star, director of the Illinois Power Agency, to discuss the process for developing solar under the Future Energy Jobs Act of 2016, which will increase the amount of solar produced in the state in the coming years.

Star discusses in detail the Illinois SREC procurement program, as well as what’s coming with the adjustable block grant that will inform what happens with distributed generation and community solar. He also provides background on how these developments came to be.

Listen to the whole discussion to hear Star talk about why low utility-scale SREC prices are good for community solar, how the RPS rollover timeframe could cause specific challenges moving forward and what role alternative suppliers will play in the state.

By Yann Brandt, Managing Editor

In this episode of the Energy Wakeup podcast, we sat down with Jon Carson, founder of Trajectory Energy Partners, to discuss early solar project development in Illinois—and the politics of solar. Carson has spent nearly a lifetime in Illinois politics, first running Tammy Duckworth’s successful Congressional campaign and then was the field director and then national field director for President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign. So he knows a little about politics and how solar fits into our current political atmosphere.

Carson discusses the importance of grassroots campaigning in early stage solar development—meeting with citizens in the area where you want to do development but going far beyond politicians. He describes the hours he’s spent crisscrossing the Land of Lincoln in his car, doing his best to talk solar to the people that will be affected by the installation of a solar farm: abutting neighbors, influencers and other townspeople.

And, Carson says, when he puts in the time to make these connections, it turns out solar is a pretty easy sell in most areas of the state.

Listen to the whole fascinating discussion to hear Carson talk about where solar is in the national political discussion and how we can do an even better job of bringing our issues to the forefront—and how he is effectively entering the burgeoning Illinois market, one project at a time.