Michell Knox of WindSolarUSA

The legislation includes the following key measures:

• Implements measures designed to increase the pace of renewable energy development in Illinois, putting the State on target to reach 40% renewable energy by 2030 and 50% by 2040.
• Doubles the State’s investment in renewables by directing approximately $350 million annually to the Illinois Power Agency for the procurement of Renewable Energy Credits (“RECs”) from wind and solar projects, including from utility-scale, brownfield, community, and distributed generation solar projects.
• Authorizes approximately $700 million in financial support over five years for three nuclear power plants located in the State. This is essentially an expansion of the 2016 Illinois legislation known as the Future Energy Jobs Act (“FEJA”) that implemented a similar funding mechanism for two other Illinois nuclear plants.
• Establishes a goal of one million electric vehicles in Illinois by 2030.
• Provides a $4,000 rebate to Chicagoland residents that purchase an electric vehicle in Illinois.
• Requires the closure of all private coal-fired power plants by 2030 and all private gas-fired power plants by 2045.
• Extends Illinois’ energy efficiency goals until 2040 and allows large industrial customers to opt out of the utilities’ energy efficiency programs and develop their own plans instead.
• Ends formula ratemaking for Illinois’ largest electric utilities and transitions them to performance-based ratemaking.
• Establishes a self-direct program for large industrial customers to offset a portion of the renewables-related surcharges on their electricity bills through purchase of RECs from utility-scale renewables projects.
• Creates a variety of programs and incentives focused on equity issues and workforce development in renewable energy deployment in Illinois.

The implementation of CEJA will involve numerous formal and informal regulatory proceedings, rulemakings, workshops, working groups, and committees. These will occur in a number of forums, including the Illinois Commerce Commission, the Illinois Power Agency, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and other agencies.

Biography:

I received my training through the Midwest Renewable Energy Association in Custer, WI and am a Certified Site Assessor for both Solar Photovoltaics and Solar Thermal. In addition, I have completed 200 photovoltaic projects ranging in size from 1kW to 156kW, multiple LED lighting upgrades for commercial businesses and non-profits and several wind and solar pool heating projects.  I have written and been awarded multiple grants from USDA Rural Development’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG), as well as the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation to fund 1kW+ educational solar installations to (13) schools across the state of IL, a children's museum and a zoo.

Prior to pursuing a career in renewable energy, I was the Development Director (fundraiser/grant writer) for a private, east-side elementary school in Springfield serving underprivileged children and their families, and previous to that, a Montessori teacher of 6-9-year-olds for ten years. I am an advocate and promoter of renewable education and continue to use my teaching and fundraising skills to further the advancement of the solar market statewide through my work/affiliation with Illinois Solar Energy Association (ISEA) to which I served on the Board of Directors from January of 2013 - December of 2016. During that time I fostered a training program for Southern IL electricians to gain Distributed Generation Certification that is required to be able to install solar in our state. I am an adjunct instructor for Lincoln Land Community College offering Introduction to Solar Photovoltaics and PV Site Assessment classes twice per year, an active member of the Downstate Caucus, which is a division of the IL Climate Table that represents Central and Southern IL environmental interests, and serve on the Board of Directors of Sustainable Springfield, Inc.

Proud achievements include the formation/leadership of the Solar Business Coalition (SBC), a group of solar developers and installers in Central and Southern IL, that assisted in the legal battles against ComEd to ensure that municipal and rural cooperative customers remained eligible for solar funding opportunities. I also provided education, drafting, introduction and assistance with the final passage of a Net Metering Ordinance in the City of Springfield, returning good solar policy to our capital city. WSUSA, and its partners, worked with Habitat for Humanity of Sangamon County in 2019 to solarize four new homes at no cost to the families that now occupy them. In 2020, we successfully engaged in the effort to return net metering to Ameren Illinois customers.

I am a long-time resident of the Village of Owaneco , where I have served on the Village Board for 15 years during which time I wrote and was awarded a USDA Community Facilities Grant for an early warning siren and helped to organize the charge to raise funds to save the community's historical gym built in 1927.  I am married to my husband, Jim, and have a daughter, Mikella, a stepson, Corey, and an adorable grandson, Harry.

Email:

Address:104 North 6th Street, Suite 300, , Springfield, Illinois, United States, 62701