Resilient Communities Webinar Series | Energy Siting and Policy: What Local Governments Need to Know

The impacts of climate change were front and center in Illinois this summer, with health-harming wildfire smoke and torrential rainfall. Despite federal rollbacks, our state continues to chart a path forward to ensure energy is produced in a clean, renewable, and carbon-free way. Our August 25th webinar dug into Illinois’ clean energy goals and policies, discussed what makes a site right for clean energy development, explored project benefits, and identified the role that local units of government play in permitting solar and wind projects. Speakers: Linda Larsen | Associate Director of Research , Climate Jobs Institute Linda Larsen is the Associate Director of Research at the Climate Jobs Institute where she supervises the institute’s research activities. Prior to her work at CJI, she was a Program Manager and the Communications and Education Program Director at the University of Illinois Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC). At SEDAC, she specialized in clean energy workforce development research and program implementation, assisting DCEO in launching the CEJA workforce programs. In her work, Linda takes a holistic approach to climate change. She is passionate about both the transition to a clean energy economy and helping communities become more resilient to the impacts of climate change Andrea Wagner | Sustainable Energy Specialist, University of Illinois Extension Andrea Wagner is a statewide sustainable energy specialist at the University of Illinois Extension. She develops programming about renewable energy sources, energy efficiency, and community planning for renewable energy projects. Andrea is passionate about helping community members understand how they can benefit from these types of projects and providing accessible information for farmers or landowners, homeowners and renters, and government officials. A native of Illinois, Andrea came to Extension after working as a county planner in Iowa for nearly four years, focusing on rural planning, natural resource protection, and floodplain management. Andrea holds a Master’s degree in Community and Regional Planning and a Master’s degree in Sustainable Agriculture, both from Iowa State University.