The amount of energy generated from wind dropped 6 percent year over year in Illinois, a setback to the state’s goals of replacing coal-fired power plants and generating more electricity from renewable sources. But the reason for the decrease may have just been an outlier year in terms of wind speed, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The climate change-spurred Canadian pressure system that spurred wildfires up north and smoke-filled skies in Chicago and other midwestern cities caused wind directions to change from what’s normally expected, resulting in less electricity generated from turbines.
The good news is that renewable energy generation in Illinois outpaced that of energy generated by coal for the first time in 2023. Energy generated by natural gas jumped a whopping 43 percent. Nuclear, the state’s largest energy source, decreased 1 percent. Solar increased significantly, but only accounts for 2 percent of the state’s energy generation. Solar’s growth wasn’t enough to keep the total generated from renewables from dropping 3 percent in 2023.
The state has a goal of eliminating fossil fuel-generated power by 2050.
Greg Zimmerman is senior contributing editor for FacilitiesNet.com and Building Operating Management magazine.
