In recent years there have been two wide-ranging pieces of energy legislation passed in the state of Illinois: the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) and Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (CRGA). The CEJA, which was passed by the Illinois General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Pritzker in September 2021, includes provisions to phase out carbon emissions from the energy and transportation sectors. Governor Pritzker followed this up with January 2026’s CRGA, which expands upon the goals of the CEJA by incentivizing development of renewable energy projects in Illinois, among other initiatives. This article will focus on impacts to fossil fuel-fired units, associated shutdown requirements, and increased emission standards.
CEJA Background
Signed into law on September 15, 2021, the CEJA, Public Act 102-0662, is one of the most comprehensive pieces of Illinois energy legislation passed in the past decade. The end goal of the CEJA is to establish a policy that will allow Illinois to achieve 100% clean energy by 2050 (with interim targets of 40% clean energy by 2030 and 50% by 2040). Multiple avenues are established to accomplish this goal including incentivizing renewable energy development, expanding electrical vehicle use and charging station infrastructure across the state, providing statewide workforce training programs to prepare Illinois workers for clean energy careers, and supporting communities impacted by the shift away from fossil fuels. The CEJA also requires significant reductions in carbon-based power generation, culminating in a zero-emissions power sector by 2045.
CEJA Applicability
There are two types of units that are obligated to achieve zero emissions under the CEJA: electric generating units (EGUs) and large greenhouse gas-emitting units (LGUs). In the Illinois Statutes Chapter 415, Section 5/9.15 (415 ILCS 5/9.15), an “electric generating unit” is defined as “a fossil fuel-fired stationary boiler, combustion turbine, or combined cycle system that serves a generator that has a nameplate capacity greater than [twenty-five (25)] MWe and produces electricity for sale.” A “large greenhouse gas-emitting unit” is defined as “an electric generating unit or other fossil fuel-fired unit that itself has a nameplate capacity or serves a generator that has a nameplate capacity greater than 25 MWe and that produces electricity, including, but not limited to, coal-fired, coal-derived, oil-fired, natural gas-fired, and cogeneration units.” It is important to note that the definition of LGUs does not exclude units that produce electricity for onsite use; therefore, even those units which do not produce power for the grid may be classified as LGUs and be subject to the provisions of the CEJA.
While an LGU is intentionally defined broadly and intended to apply to any unit serving power generation rated at greater than 25 MWe and having carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) has indicated that if multiple power generation units less than 25 MWe were “stacked” in lieu of a larger unit greater than 25 MWe, the individual units rated less than 25 MWe would not be subject to the shutdown requirements under the CEJA. Also, different CEJA deadlines are applicable to public greenhouse gas-emitting units which are defined as units that are wholly owned, directly or indirectly, by one or more municipalities, municipal corporations, joint municipal electric power agencies, electric cooperatives, or other governmental or nonprofit entities, whether organized and created under the laws of Illinois or another state.
CEJA Zero Emissions Requirements
Ultimately, all units subject to the CEJA must reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by January 1, 2045. However, earlier shutdown and CO2 reduction timelines may apply dependent on proximity to an Equity Investment Eligible Community (EIEC) or Environmental Justice (EJ) area as of January 1, 2021; NOx and SO2 emission rates; and/or unit size. EJ areas refer to communities that are recognized by Illinois EPA to be disproportionately affected by environmental pollution. The Illinois EPA’s EJ Start tool can be used to determine the EJ areas as of January 1, 2021, for purposes of evaluating CEJA applicability. An EIEC is an area that Illinois has determined would most benefit from equitable investments by the State. EIECs overlap with EJ areas and additionally include R3 areas as established pursuant to Section 10-40 of the Cannabis Regulation Tax Act. A map of all EIECs can be found using an online tool from the Illinois Power Agency.
The zero emission deadline requirements under the CEJA are summarized below. Some of the below EGU/LGU groups are also subject to interim emissions and operational reduction deadlines.
- By January 1, 2030, for units that meet the following conditions:
- NOx emissions rate >0.12 lbs/MWh or an SO2 emission rate >0.006 lb/MWh; and
- Located in or within three (3) miles of an EJ community (designated as of January 1, 2021) or an EIEC.
- By January 1, 2035, for units that meet the following conditions:
- Began operation prior to September 15, 2021;
- NOx emission rate ≤0.12 lb/MWh and an SO2 emission rate ≤0.006 lb/MWh; and
- Located in or within three (3) miles of an EJ community (designated as of January 1, 2021) or an EIEC.
- By January 1, 2040, for units that meet the following conditions:
- NOx emission rate >0.12 lbs/MWh or an SO2 emission rate >0.006 lb/MWh; and
- Not located in or within three (3) miles of an EJ community (designated as of January 1, 2021) or an EIEC.
- By January 1, 2040, for all remaining EGUs and LGUs with a heat rate ≥7000 BTU/kWh.
- By January 1, 2045, for all remaining EGUs and LGUs.
In addition to the above deadlines, as of September 2022, the 12-month rolling emissions from any unit that is subject to the CEJA may not exceed the unit’s existing emissions, where existing emissions are defined as the three-year average CO2 equivalent (CO2e) or co-pollutant emissions from 2018 through 2020. If the unit was not yet in operation by January 1, 2018, this would be the three-year average emissions during the first three full years the unit operates. In effect, this means that any such units may not increase runtime or unit capacity in such a way that also results in an increase in emissions. Lastly, units subject to the CEJA may also be subject to various notification and reporting requirements.
It should be noted that, even if a unit is subject to zero-emission requirements under the rule, the Illinois EPA will still issue a permit allowing the unit to operate (granted a relevant deadline has not passed). The only notable change would be the inclusion of applicable CEJA requirements.
CRGA Background
Illinois Governor Pritzker signed the CRGA, Public Act 104-0458, into law on January 8, 2026, with an effective date of the legislation set to be June 1, 2026. The CRGA represents another wide-ranging effort by the state of Illinois to invest in clean energy. The stated aim of this bill is to build a more resilient energy system and lower electricity costs through strategic deployment and expansion of clean energy and energy efficiency programs. There are a number of initiatives that this bill covers including investment in 3 gigawatts of critical statewide battery storage, expanding access to rebates incentivizing households to become more energy efficient, strengthening the power grid by promoting improvements to transmission infrastructure, vesting Illinois regulators through the Illinois Commerce Commission with greater oversight over energy resource planning, lifting moratoriums on large nuclear power plant construction, among other initiatives. This article focuses specifically on the increased air-related regulations for data centers.
Increased Data Center Regulations Under the CRGA
Beginning six (6) months after the effective date of the legislation, i.e., beginning December 1, 2026, the CRGA introduces additional conditions for diesel and natural gas-powered backup generators installed and operated at data center sources in Illinois. These conditions will apply to data centers that are required to obtain a federally enforceable state operating or Clean Air Act Permit Program permit, and go beyond the typical requirements for emergency engines under state and federal law.
Specifically, the CRGA requires any diesel-fired backup generators to meet standards at least as protective as the Tier 4 standards for non-road diesel engines in Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (40 CFR) Part 1039, and any natural gas-fired backup generators to meet standards at least as protective as the Tier 2 standards for non-road large spark-ignition engines in 40 CFR Part 1048. These standards are typically reserved for non-emergency engines, which by nature operate on a more frequent basis and therefore require better emissions performance. Notably, the CRGA stops short of requiring that these engines be certified to the above standards, which will allow data centers the flexibility to purchase engines certified to a lower standard and install aftermarket controls to achieve emissions performance equivalent to the Tier 4 and Tier 2 standards for diesel- and natural gas-fired engines, respectively.
Additionally, the CRGA restricts subject generators to operating solely as emergency or standby units in accordance with Title 35 of the Illinois Administrative Code, Subpart 211.1920 (35 IAC 211.1920). Summarily, this means the subject engines will not be permitted to be enrolled in any demand response program.
As specified in the CRGA, these new standards will only apply to engines with permits that are applied for 6 months after the effective date of the CRGA. The effective date of the CRGA is June 1, 2026, so applications received prior to December 1, 2026 would not be subject to these increased requirements.
Next Steps
Data centers will need to be aware of the increased requirements under the CRGA and evaluate how to comply with the new standards if planning to submit a construction permit application on or after December 1, 2026. The CRGA will generally increase the cost of compliance for companies with generators that are subject. Beyond the additional controls required for compliance, there is also the potential that the Illinois EPA would require stack testing to ensure compliance, particularly with non-certified units.
Concerning the CEJA, companies should begin by identifying (if they have not already) any EGUs and LGUs and the applicable CEJA deadlines. As a reminder, applicability is not limited to units that produce electricity for sale, and the zero-emission requirements also apply to upstream combustion units such as boilers that may serve a downstream steam turbine. It is Trinity’s understanding that the CEJA requirements for existing units will be added into relevant facilities’ operating permits upon renewal
For further assistance with or information regarding the CEJA or CRGA, please contact Philip Masini and Connor Rutledge from Trinity’s Chicago office, or consider calling the main office line at 630.495.1470
