Block Rock Island Clean Line is not a group of selfish farmers wanting to stop progress by opposing clean energy solutions that would help society. Block RICL is a group of citizens concerned with unnecessary power lines and the billions of dollars in expenses they impose on the taxpayers and consumers.
Block RICL is made-up of concerned citizens who want to educate the public and ask the Illinois Commerce Commission, ICC, to study all proposed power line projects and stop unnecessary transmission lines. The group initially was begun by landowners directly impacted by Rock Island Clean Line’s project to cross Illinois farm land with huge towers carrying DC electricity from Iowa to the PJM power grid which supplies the East Coast. But as more information was available to the public, the group quickly grew to include many other citizens who question a system where a private group of wealthy out-of-state investors can attempt to get public utility status and seize private land using eminent domain — then make the public pay for their investment through electricity bills.
Also opposing the RICL power line project are citizens following the national trend to scrutinize the abuse of federal subsidy money for supposedly “clean energy.” These people realize wind energy produced in the Midwest and transmitted half-way across the country is not the answer to a future of clean energy. They also feel there are better clean energy solutions close to where the energy is needed and wind subsidies abuse our federal taxpayer’s money which was intended to create future independence from fossil fuels. Wind energy is very costly to produce and requires back up production of electricity from coal, natural gas or nuclear energy. Only a third of the electricity transmitted over the proposed “clean lines” would likely be produced by wind. Clean electricity generated by off-shore Atlantic Ocean wind farms or under water turbines located near the demand area make a lot more sense.
This is an issue that concerns all Americans.