ComEd launches three studies into technical, community demands of clean energy transition
Under the newly enacted Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) in Illinois, ComEd announced that three new studies would help it to better understand the technical and community aspects of a clean energy transition and help it tailor its future grid plans.
Complementing another study – the Climate Risk and Adaptation Study – commissioned by ComEd and the Argonne National Laboratory’s Center for Climate Resilience and Decision Science, ComEd’s latest efforts will address the means to fully decarbonize by 2050, the energy needs of disadvantaged and underrepresented communities, and how clean energy will affect the state workforce. The climate risk study will address the impact of changing weather on the design and performance of the region’s power grid.
“CEJA provides a roadmap to an equitable clean energy future for Illinois,” Gil Quiniones, ComEd CEO, said. “The state’s utilities must now plan and execute the investments that will enable the rapid growth of renewables and electric vehicles, ensure the grid’s resilience to more extreme weather caused by climate change, and balance the need to keep electric bills affordable. This transformation will offer tremendous economic, environmental, and public health benefits, and these studies will help us design our grid plans to ensure that every community benefits.”
Each study will pair ComEd researchers with other organizations to explore a variety of pathways. On decarbonization, that partner will be Energy+Environmental Ergonomics (E3), with which ComEd will explore what full, economy-wide decarbonization would look like. For disadvantaged communities, ComEd will work with ILLUME Advising to identify barriers such communities face in receiving equitable services from a clean energy transformation. BW Research will conduct statewide and regional research into the clean energy transformation’s impact on the Illinois workforce, particularly its potential for new jobs in disadvantaged communities.
All three studies aim for completion by fall this year. Public reports will follow.
