The online fight over Illinois’ energy future
Energy interests and activist groups spending over $300,000 online to pass clean energy legislation - or preserve their corporate fossil fuel interests
The Illinois General Assembly’s 2021 session is drawing to a close, with just over two weeks to go until their Sine Die on May 31st. So far this session, national and local groups have spent over $300,000 on Facebook ads in the state in efforts to shift public opinion on clean energy- spending that has accelerated in the past month.
Since April 11th, these groups have spent over $205,000 on Facebook ads targeting Illinois. Some national campaigns, such as the ones from Energy Citizens, EDF, and Climate Power, happen to target Illinois because it’s a populous state, but most campaigns listed below concern issues specific to Illinois. Here’s how that spending breaks down among the top 10 advertisers:
Of the Facebook ad spending from the past month, nearly half of it has gone toward ads that seek to lobby for or against the Clean Energy Jobs Act, which would put Illinois on track for 100 percent clean energy by 2050. The biggest spender in this particular fight has been utility company Ameren, which has been spending aggressively on the platform against the legislation under the page “DownState Energy”, arguing that it would mean higher energy costs for consumers in downstate Illinois and reduced benefits for energy plant workers.
While opposing CEJA, they’re also throwing their weight behind the “Downstate Clean Energy Affordability Act”, which would set a less ambitious clean energy target for the state and let Ameren build and own their own solar and storage facilities, something that’s currently not allowed in Illinois. Ameren’s ads are mostly targeted to Illinoisans over 55.
ExxonMobil is the other polluting group spending significant $$ on digital ads against legislation in Illinois, against HB 3437. Check out our coverage of their campaign in last week’s digital ad roundup.
Most of the Facebook ad spending about CEJA in Illinois comes from climate groups Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition and the Alliance for Climate Education, which appear to be cooperating on their online campaigns. Both groups are targeting a mix of age and gender audiences with at least three different arguments for passing CEJA: good-paying clean energy jobs, climate justice/holding Exelon accountable, and lower energy bills.
The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition has also spent $18,000 so far this year targeting the state with Snapchat ads pushing for CEJA.Their Snapchat ads targeted Illinoisans 16 and up who fit in the “Advocates & Activists” interest group, according to the Snap Political Ads Library.
Other groups, like Climate Jobs Illinois, the Clean Energy Transition Project, and the Alliance for Solar Choice have been targeting the state with Facebook ads arguing for various actions and pieces of legislation: the Climate Unions Jobs Act, cutting state subsidies for Exelon and ComEd, and vague “solar-energy legislation,” respectively. While the ads from Climate Jobs Illinois and the Alliance for Solar Choice target a mix of age and gender demographics, CETP’s ads seem to overwhelmingly target older men in the state.
Finally, we’d like to note that Exelon themselves have spent $3,735 on Facebook ads that either greenwash their brand or make grand claims about their DEI and “accountability” efforts within the company. They’ve been targeting their ads mostly at women under 35 in the state.