REPORT: Illinois clean energy and transportation jobs are growing

PEORIA (25News Now) - A new report shows clean transportation jobs were the state’s fastest-growing job sector in 2022.

The 2023 Clean Jobs Midwest Report showed the state has about 125,000 clean energy jobs.

14,000 of them are in the clean transportation industry, such as electric vehicle makers Rivian in Normal and Lion Electric which has a plant near Joliet.

One of the topics we asked clean energy experts about Tuesday was job growth in the electric vehicle and battery industry.

Nate Baguio of Lion Electric wants to build on the success of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) by transitioning all trucks on the road into electric vehicles.

“Most of the trucks and where a significant amount of these emissions and costs for small, medium and large businesses are for those box delivery trucks that you see every day on the road. EV really makes a lot of sense,” said Lion Electric Senior VP of Commercial Development Nate Baguio.

25News asked if more public charging stations are needed in Illinois.

Ian Adams of Evergreen Climate Innovations said there are new investments in the bipartisan infrastructure law and other pieces of legislation, to support more public charging in the Midwest.

Adams said most charging stations are built in homes since most EVs have a range of 200 to 300 miles, and owners typically use them for short trips.