Illinois is about to venture into a new and exciting chapter in the energy portfolio – shale gas and oil production. It should be a wild roller-coaster ride filled with thrills and chills.
Illinois’ other energy chapters are quite compelling. After all, Illinois:
- Is #1 in the U.S. in nuclear energy production
- Is #4 in the U.S. in wind energy production
- Receives more than one million barrels of oil from Canada per day via pipeline
- Exports 85% of its coal production, which has increased more than 50% in the past three years
- Is home to a plethora of underground pipelines and transmission lines that deliver electricity, natural gas, crude oil, and refined petroleum products across the Midwest and beyond
Of course all that energy activity brings economic benefits – 150,000 direct and indirect jobs are tied to energy industries in Illinois, with salaries 50% higher than the state average.
We’re excited to be adding shale oil and gas development later this year, but it won’t be easy. You can simply ask folks in North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, Colorado and other states about the benefits of shale gas and oil development and what it means to their economies. You can also ask them about the depth and breadth of the opposition groups that think hydraulic fracturing is second only to Satan himself when it comes to being evil.
I even received an anonymous email from someone who wrote that because of my support of fracking in Illinois “radiated men will eat the flesh of radiated men underneath your portrait in their death houses.” You have to appreciate the creative imagery but not necessarily the underlying message.
Southern Illinois is home to a shale play that may be yet another resource of American oil and gas supply. Southern Illinois is also home to a above-average unemployment rate and a need for increased economic development opportunities. It seems like a perfect fit.
Illinois passed the toughest hydraulic fracturing law in the country last summer, and the rules and permitting process will be in place later this year (hopefully!). If it all comes together, permits will be issued in the late summer or fall, and we’ll then find out if the shale play “cooperates” and provides oil and/or natural gas at scale that proves economical for producers.
The end of this story has yet to be written, so I hope you’ll keep your eyes and ears attuned to Illinois this year with the hope that we can find that “sweet spot” where energy production, job creation, and environmental protection all live together.
In other words, are we going to be a story about success or about lost opportunity? We have our fingers crossed that it’ll be the former.
Tom Wolf is executive director of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce Energy Council.