Illinois

Together with its with its partners at Highland Electric, Blue Bird, and local Exelon utility ComEd, the West Aurora school district kicked off this week by deploying 27 fully electric school buses — the largest such deployment in the state. Here’s how they made it happen.

Northern Illinois utility ComEd has spent more than $100 million in EV and EV charging rebates since launch its Beneficial Electrification program in 2024 — an investment that, along with funding from the Illinois EPA and other Federal grants, has helped drive EV adoption in the state at a rate that’s rapidly outpaced the rest of the nation.

EV drivers across Illinois can now access flat-rate fast charging for $15 per session, thanks to Universal EV Chargers’ new no-hidden-fee pricing.

Illinois is expanding its EV charging network with $18.4 million in federal grants that were restored after being unlawfully frozen by the Trump administration. The grants come from the second round of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, which supports Illinois’s goal of registering 1 million EVs by 2030.

ComEd confirmed that the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has approved its second Beneficial Electrification Plan. This plan builds upon an existing investment and will commit an additional $168 million over three years to support its Illinois ComEd customers who purchase or lease an EV or install a charger.

Voltpost, a startup that turns existing lampposts into EV chargers, has officially launched its first public charging site in Oak Park, Illinois. The curbside charger, installed in partnership with the Park District of Oak Park and utility ComEd, brings easy, affordable EV charging access right to the neighborhood.

Swift Current Energy’s 800-megawatt (MW) Double Black Diamond Solar is up and running about 30 miles west of Springfield. It’s now the largest operating solar farm east of the Mississippi, and it’s set to make a serious dent in emissions while delivering clean energy to major customers, including the City of Chicago.

Fueled by incentives from the Illinois EPA and the state’s largest utility company, new EV registrations nearly quadrupled the 12% first-quarter increase in EV registrations nationally – and there are no signs the state is slowing down.

In a move that’s expected to play a crucial role in supporting the transition to medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles, $100 million of the Biden Administration’s last-minute $635M payout is headed to Illinois to help build out an electric truck charging corridor.

Cambridge, Massachusetts, has signed the largest-ever virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) by a US city to help build a utility-scale solar farm in Illinois.

Electric school bus maker Lion Electric has suspended manufacturing at its Joliet, Illinois facility after laying off nearly four hundred workers – more than half its global employees. The company hopes Canadian real estate developers Groupe Mach can save the day.

US coal giant Peabody and Germany’s RWE are teaming up to develop 5.5 gigawatts (GW) of solar and energy storage projects on former mining land in the Midwest.

Penske Truck Leasing is rolling out rooftop solar on its US truck leasing, rental, and maintenance buildings, starting in Illinois.

A fire broke out at Rivian‘s Normal, Illinois, factory last night, but the factory itself was unharmed. Here’s what we know.

Starbucks has partnered with Nexamp, the largest community solar provider in the US, to anchor six new community solar farms in Illinois.

Global EV battery developer Gotion High-Tech has announced a major investment in the state of Illinois to the tune of $2 billion to erect a new gigafactory in Manteno – about 50 miles south of Chicago. With logistic and financial support from the state, Gotion’s new plant becomes the largest investment in EV battery technology in Illinois history.

The US’s largest self-storage company is going to host solar panels on 133 of its storage buildings’ rooftops to power over 10,000 homes with affordable community solar power.

The solar industry in Illinois is reaping the rewards of the state’s Climate and Equitable Jobs Act that passed five months ago.

Between 2022 and 2025, 27.3 gigawatts (GW) of new natural gas-fired capacity is scheduled to come online in the US, boosting its existing capacity of 489.1 GW as of August 2021, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Here’s where it’s headed.

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• Xcel Energy has filed to replace its coal plants with what would be the largest solar farm in Minnesota.
• A Clean Cars Illinois program would create jobs and save money.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

(UPDATE: This article previously stated the EV tax would be $248. It turns out the bill also hikes the registration fee to $148 for all vehicles, but to $248 for EVs specifically. So the “EV Tax” is $100, not $248)

The Illinois legislature has approved a $45 billion transportation bill over the weekend to help improve the state’s infrastructure. Among other things, this bill includes a $100 tax on electric vehicles.

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