President Donald J. Trump’s recently signed “One Big Beautiful Bill” significantly impacts clean energy efforts in Illinois by repealing key federal tax credits and incentives. The legislation ends an $8,000 solar tax credit and a $7,500 electric vehicle credit, reduces support for battery and solar panel manufacturing, and jeopardizes $14 billion in planned clean energy investments across the state. These changes are expected to slow the development of wind and solar projects, reduce clean power additions by 30–60% in Illinois by 2035, and cause job losses—an estimated 21,000 fewer clean energy jobs in Illinois by 2030.
Despite this, Illinois is expected to fare better than most states due to its strong clean energy law—the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA)—which mandates 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045 and provides generous state-level incentives for solar and electric vehicles. Advocates are pushing for further state action, including new legislation to expand transmission infrastructure, energy storage, and large-scale renewables.
Clean energy leaders and environmentalists view the federal rollback as a major setback but also a catalyst to double down on state-level leadership. The bill is projected to raise greenhouse gas emissions by 470 million metric tons annually by 2035 and increase average U.S. household energy costs by $170 per year.