A plan sponsored by state Senator Don Harmon and backed by the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition is moving in the Senate. Dubbed the Illinois Clean Jobs Bill, the package is expected to create an average of 32,000 good-paying jobs per year investing in solar power, wind energy and increased energy efficiency.

“We owe it to our children and grandchildren to protect the Earth. That means we have to use energy more efficiently and to start using more renewable energy,” Harmon said. “More immediately, we can create good jobs across the state. Illinois has tremendous potential to grow its solar and wind energy industries, training people for jobs that will be needed far into the foreseeable future.”

The legislation calls for a 40 percent increase in Illinois’ use of clean energy, requiring 35 percent of the state’s electricity needs to be supplied by renewable sources within the next 15 years. This investment will create jobs constructing and maintaining solar panels and wind turbines. It will also create related sales, real estate and transportation jobs.

The plan also calls for a 20 percent reduction in electricity usage by 2030. In order to achieve this ambitious goal, it will develop opportunities for businesses and homeowners to invest in affordable energy efficiency programs. These programs will likely include purchasing more energy efficient appliances and weatherizing homes, which will create construction and manufacturing jobs, along with related sales and transportation jobs.

Passage of the Illinois Clean Jobs Bill would also help Illinois attract jobs and investments that are flowing to states with more aggressive clean-energy policies. For example, Oklahoma recently surpassed Illinois as a generator of new wind, bringing on-line more than 600 megawatts of wind last year, compared with zero for Illinois. In recent weeks, South Dakota passed new tax incentives to help compete for wind energy. In 2014, Iowa doubled its solar tax credit and Minnesota established some of the most ambitious solar energy goals in the nation.

“In the end, a cleaner Earth means a stronger economy,” Harmon said. “This plan will put people to work and help wean us off our dependence on fossil fuels.”

The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, which helped Harmon develop the legislation, is made up of Illinois businesses and organizations representing the state’s environmental, business and faith communities. The legislation, sometimes referred to as the Clean Jobs Bill, is Senate Bill 1485. It passed the Senate Environment and Conservation Committee today. A companion bill, HB 2607, has been introduced in the House.