(The Center Square) – Illinois lawmakers are pushing House Resolution 68, urging warehouse owners to install rooftop solar panels and use clean energy incentives. Critics argue the panels can pose fire and structural risks, making large-scale adoption unsafe without stricter oversight.
In 2023, solar panel fires occurred at Olympia High School in Stanford, Illinois, at a Farmington solar farm and at Augustana College. In an unrelated news conference about energy policy, state Rep. Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville, said energy policy shouldn’t be driven by ideology and climate hysteria instead of facts and fundamentals.
“Spain embraced extreme climate policies and shut down base load generation too soon. The result was that a grid collapsed. Elevators froze mid-floor, businesses shut down, and people literally died,” said Halbrook. “Under the majority party, two major laws were passed, [the Future Energy Jobs Act] in 2016 and [The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act] in 2021. These weren’t serious policies, they were political talking points designed to satisfy a flawed agenda.”
At the end of April 2025, a massive blackout swept across Spain, Portugal and parts of France.
Halbrook said renewables alone can’t meet energy demand without the support of reliable, inertia-based generation from coal, natural gas and nuclear.
“Safety must come first. There’s nothing clean about energy that endangers lives,” said Halbrook.
Halbrook said while putting solar panels on warehouse rooftops may sound like a smart move, it’s not without serious risks. He noted that there’s been a troubling number of solar panel fires in recent years.
“Before we rush into blanket recommendations, we need to ask: are these systems safe, and who’s responsible when something goes wrong? Illinois is already facing a looming energy crisis. Piling risky, unproven solutions on top of it isn’t the answer,” Halbrook told The Center Square.
Proponents of HR68 say solar panels on rooftops will preserve Illinois farmland.
Beginning June 1, 2025, ComEd customers may see their electric bills rise by as much as $10 a month, a hike some lawmakers attribute to green energy policies.
“We’re seeing skyrocketing energy costs, unreliable service, and increasing dependence on imported electricity, which is often less clean than what we used to produce here,” said Halbrook. “Meanwhile, we’re losing good-paying jobs and prematurely closing coal and natural gas plants that have powered our homes and communities.”
In a letter, the Citizens Utility Board accused PJM Interconnection, a regional transmission organization that oversees the power grid and electricity market in 13 states, including Illinois, of inaccurate forecasting of future electricity load.
CUB said Illinois lawmakers should pass the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act to strengthen the grid and make data centers pay their own energy costs.
CRGA Act is an extension of the 2021 Clean Energy Jobs Act. Halbrook criticized CEJA and policies like it.
“But instead of revisiting these failed policies, the majority continues to push short-term patches and virtual signaling legislation,” said Halbrook.
