Representative Brad Halbrook of Illinois' 107th District has expressed concerns over the cost and reliability of battery-backed wind and solar energy at scale. He urged policymakers to prioritize affordable and dependable energy solutions over subsidies during a podcast appearance.

"This idea that we can live in this green fantasy, that wind and solar is gonna sustain us, and all we have to do is put battery backups there—it's just not reality," said Halbrook, State Representative from Illinois. "For a four-hour battery storage, it's about one and a half times the cost of the wind or solar facility. For 24-hour backup, it's nine times the cost. We have to separate the fantasy from the real world and quit going back to ratepayers to subsidize it."

Illinois lawmakers have recently advanced

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