Illinois needs a strategic clean energy development plan that implements smart policies and practices to capture readily achievable environmental, public health and economic development benefits. This sustainable development strategy is good for the environment and the economy. The Clean Energy Development Plan proposes policies to implement underutilized energy efficiency technologies and to aggressively develop renewable energy resources. By diversifying a power supply that has relied on old, highly polluting coal and nuclear plants, Illinois will reduce pollution, improve electricity reliability, create new "green" manufacturing and installation jobs, and provide renewable energy "cash crops" for farmers. The Clean Energy Development Plan provides the strategies to achieve these goals.

Illinois should seize the opportunity to develop its clean energy resources: modern energy efficiency technologies and wind, biomass and solar power. The Clean Energy Development Plan achieves large environmental, public health and economic development benefits with only modest increases in cost. Moreover, investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy will diversify the region's electricity portfolio, thereby improving reliability.

1. Aggressively implements the newest, as well as "tried and true," energy efficiency technologies.
2. Develops and implements renewable energy technologies - wind, biomass and solar power - so that they provide eight percent of the region's electricity generation by 2010, and 22 percent by 2020.
3. Develops and implements efficient natural gas uses in appropriate locations, especially combined heat and power (CHP), district energy systems and fuel cells, so that they provide 10 percent of the region's electricity generation by 2010, and 25 percent by 2020.
4. Retires selected older, less efficient and highly polluting coal plants.
5. Applies sustainable development strategies to aggressively link environmental improvement policies to economic development.