‘Energy transition’ grants help Metro East communities cope with closure of mines, plants

A new state grant program is providing $40 million this year to communities coping with the closure of fossil fuel plants or coal mines. About $3.28 million is going to the metro-east, which is dealing with hundreds of job losses and millions in lost property tax revenue.

Municipalities, counties, school districts and other taxing districts within 30 miles of a plant or mine that closed in the past six years or is closing in the next six years were eligible for the grants.

The grants can be used in a variety of ways “to plan for or address the economic and social impact on the community or region” of the energy transition away from coal and other fossil fuels to renewables as Illinois, the United States and the entire world shift gears to address the worsening climate crisis.

The Energy Transition Community Grant Program was created by an article of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act that Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law in 2021. The legislation prioritizes a “just transition,” aiming to help communities and workers that have depended on fossil fuels. The act allocates $40 million annually for the grant program until 2045.

Randolph County, the Village of East Alton, the City of Red Bud and the Village of Baldwin are the four grant recipients in southwestern Illinois.