Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards: In 2007, Illinois transitioned their renewable portfolio standard from a voluntary target, to a standard, requiring 25 percent of electricity generated by utilities to come from renewable energy sources by 2025, with a solar carve out of 6 percent, starting in 2015-16. According to the US Energy Information Administration, electricity generated from renewable energy accounted for 8 percent of the total energy generated in 2019.

Decades of proven operation: Tens of millions of solar panels, operating hundreds of millions of hours, have been installed across the United States and the world over the past 30 years. The efficiency of panels and inverters (something that converts the electricity into the standard that comes out of your electrical outlets) has improved five-fold over the past several years and the costs have plummeted. Large-scale solar energy farms are now one of the lowest cost electricity sources.

Jobs and capital investment: Many Illinois-based firms are currently working on the project, with millions of pre-construction dollars invested. During the nine-month construction period, expected to begin 2024, the construction will employ a skilled workforce and contracts will be awarded to regional vendors during construction and operation.