SPRINGFIELD – A bill that would allow voter-approved energy production districts to create and sell renewable energy was approved Thursday by the Senate Energy Committee.

The legislation (SB 1316) is sponsored by Sen. Mike Frerichs, D-Champaign. Similar legislation was unanimously approved by the House in 2009 but was bottled up in the Senate.

The Renewable Energy Production District Act requires voters within a single county to approve the creation of the district that would construct, operate and maintain a renewable energy facility and sell the energy. All the money earned by the sale of the energy would be paid "to the county in which the district is located," the legislation says.

The legislation was suggested by Rantoul Township Supervisor Jim Rusk, Frerichs said. Rusk was unavailable for comment Thursday.

Frerichs said the renewable energy districts likely would limit themselves to production of wind energy.

"Everything I've heard so far is about wind energy," he said. "There have been questions about an ethanol plant and how they'd finance it, but frankly I can't imagine them trying to build an ethanol plant, a unit of government taking that risk."

"It doesn't mandate anything," Frerichs said, "but if voters out there believe strongly enough in this and they're willing to create a body and have trustees then I think that's a good thing."