‘UNIQUE POSITION’
Clean energy provider looks to invest huge dollars in the Rockford region
If San-Diego based Monarch Energy chooses Rockford for a manufacturing plant, it could be one of the largest investments by a private company in the region's history.
“About 400 to 500 jobs and a billion dollars in investments,” U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, said Friday during a stop in Rockford.
Specializing in hydrogen electrolysis, Monarch's plan is to build a plant near the Chicago Rockford International Airport and take emissions from nearby landfills and convert them into American-made sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).
Duckworth said while the sustainable fuel Monarch would manufacture would be used at the Rockford airport, the company's local operation would also attract some of the world's largest companies.
“It's going to bring in more aviation interests that want to access that fuel,” the senator said. “It's going to mean other industries will want to be located in this area because they can get that clean energy. You'll have corporations like Panasonic or Samsung — these international corporations that have pledged to be carbon-neutral by a certain date. So, they'll have to go someplace where they can get carbon-neutral energy. And we'll be able to provide them with that. And that means they will be bringing manufacturers back into this region.”
Details about where Monarch is looking to set up shop aren't clear. There is much speculation that it will be among other manufacturers that would be part of a rail-served industrial park near the Winnebago-Ogle County line that's currently in the works.
“We are using the (Greater Rockford) Airport Authority, partnering with the (Winnebago County) Rail Authority to bring 1,200 acres online at the airport,” said Region 1 Planning
Council Executive Director Michael Dunn Jr., who also heads the rail authority. “It’s a great site.”
Dunn said non-disclosure agreements prevent him from commenting about specific companies that may be part of the industrial park, but said it could have its first users by 2027.
Duckworth said the Rockford region is a vital to the success of the transport and logistics industry and is main hub for trucking, air cargo and rail.
“All Class 1 railroads that come into the United States come through Rockford, Illinois,” she said. “We are in a unique position. This region and greater Illinois is in the unique position to lead the nation in that effort.”
Monarch Energy was founded in 2021 with a mission to transform today’s hydrogen supply chain by utilizing clean molecules derived from water and zerocarbon electricity, according to the company’s website. Monarch is currently developing a pipeline of projects containing more than 4 GW of future installed electrolyzer capacity across the United States.
Duckworth said the deal to bring Monarch to Rockford is coming together and close to being finalized.
“We have to get some clarification (on) a rule the Department of Energy is working on right now,” she said. “(It) basically says how much nuclear energy that Monarch would be using to fuel their factory qualifies as a new green energy.”