Solar Energy

A bill to make solar power more accessible to renters and others who face barriers to the alternative energy source stalled in the Illinois Senate, but it’s likely to return in the fall veto session because lawmakers like the idea of helping residents with their electric bills.

There has been one permit pulled for the installation of a BESS, at Rivian. It encompasses less than an acre, according to the town planning and zoning department, and would not be visible from a public street.

The massive tax and spending law signed in July halts a federal incentive for residential solar, and homeowners and installers are hurrying to complete projects before the end of the year. Industry experts say there are other ways to cut costs like "group buys."

Unit 5 heard a first reading of its policy regarding law enforcement requests for student citizenship status information at Wednesday's meeting.

Temperatures remained into the 80s well in the fall this year in parts of the Midwest. Agrivoltaics offers a respite to extreme heat and land access for new farmers.

The Normal Town Council also approved a solar addition at Heartland Community College, updates to park signage and heard updates on the town's strategic plan.

The Ecology Action Center in Normal urges Bloomington-Normal residents to stay in the municipal electric aggregation program even with hefty rate increases coming this summer.

The Bloomington City Council on Monday approved plans to annex land on Washington Street to allow construction of a community-scale solar energy project. Members also waived the formal bidding process for a resurfacing and pavement preservation program to update streets and sidewalks.

The McLean County Board unanimously approved the new installation to the east of Bloomington-Normal. Landowners supported the plan they say will diversify the use of their farmland.

A manufacturer in the southwest suburbs of Chicago received $2.6 million from electric utility Commonwealth Edison this week as part of a state program for generating its own electricity using solar panels and storing it in one of the largest batteries in the country.