Driving progress in Illinois
The Clean Transportation Standard Act provides a road map to decarbonizing Illinois’s transportation system while creating economic opportunities for the state’s industries, protecting consumers, and improving public health. It would encourage the transition to low-carbon, homegrown fuels and accelerate electric vehicle adoption, reducing reliance on imported energy
Investing in Illinois’s biofuels and farming industries
The Clean Transportation Standard Act would reduce the use of imported fuels and increase investment in lower-carbon fuels, including homegrown biofuels. Under the program, biofuel producers and farmers could earn credits by reducing emissions along the fuel supply chain.
The program would provide incentives for farmers who choose to adopt climate-smart agricultural practices. This would drive economic growth in rural communities and generate climate, soil health, and water quality benefits.
According to an analysis by Horizon Climate Group, the policy would generate the following benefits for clean fuel producers: by Horizon Climate Group, the policy would generate the following benefits for clean fuel producers:
$479 million annually for renewable natural gas producers
$234 million annually for ethanol producers
$269 annually for biodiesel producers
$53 million annually for renewable diesel producers
$43 million annually for biofuel farmers
Driving the transition to electric vehicles
The Clean Transportation Standard Act would support the transition to electric vehicles by creating financial incentives for electric vehicle charging. Based on an analysis by the Great Plains Institute, the policy would provide between $6 billion and $12 billion cumulatively for transportation electrification between now and 2040. This funding—which would come from higher-emitting transportation fuel producers, not from state taxpayers—would improve the economic case for electrification.
The Clean Transportation Standard Act requires the revenue from electric vehicle charging at residences to be reinvested into distribution, grid modernization, infrastructure, and other projects that support transportation decarbonization, with at least 50 percent of those investments supporting environmental justice communities.
According to the Great Plains Institute analysis, this could provide between $125 million and $250 million annually to those communities by 2030.
By spurring electrification, this policy would generate public health benefits due to reduced tailpipe emissions, particularly in communities that have been disproportionately impacted by transportation pollution.
Protecting consumers and boosting Illinois’s economy
The clean transportation standard would support economic growth statewide. It would support the use of homegrown fuels like biofuels and electricity while reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels. By driving investment in Illinois’s clean fuel industries, the program would create 114,000 jobs over 15 years and contribute $622 million annually to the state in labor income, according to a study by Horizon Climate Group.
By improving access to a variety of clean fuels, the standard would also increase consumer choice in the market. Lower-carbon fuels are also often available at a lower cost than conventional fuels. For example, electric vehicle drivers in Illinois pay the equivalent of $1.28 per gallon of gasoline. According to Horizon Climate Group, the proposed policy would result in $1.5 billion in economic benefits to households.
Illinois Clean Transportation Standard 