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Powering Illinois Demand for affordable, reliable electricity has grown nationwide Electricity is a critical commodity in today’s society, ranking only second to food, with electricity sales amounting to more than $245 billion annually*. Consumers need electricity to power their homes and the necessities and conveniences of their lives. Businesses need electricity to communicate, innovate, and generate their products and services. The U.S. and state economies need electricity to power the technological advances that keep us competitive. Coal helps Illinois maintain its fuel diversity, another key to reliability Illinois citizens and the state’s economy rely upon the availability of affordable electricity. Coal is both domestically abundant and affordable and provides Illinois with one of its major fuel sources, generating 46 percent of the state’s electricity. It is an essential component in Illinois’ energy mix and, for economic reasons, must maintain this role for years to come.
Through regulation and technology, coal is meeting environmental and economic demands for clean, affordable energy Multi-billion-dollar investments in emissions control technologies and federal regulations implementing the Clean Air Act have significantly reduced emissions resulting from coal-generated energy. As a result, even as demand for energy has increased, air quality in Illinois and across the country has improved. Emerging technologies to reduce mercury emissions, combined with the federal Clean Air Mercury Rule, mean that coal energy will continue to become cleaner energy.
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