Illinois Power Agency Releases Final Policy Study

In accordance with Section 1-129 of the Illinois Power Agency Act (enacted through Public Act 103-0580), the IPA has released its final Policy Study analyzing three policy proposals considered during the Spring 2023 session of the Illinois General Assembly: planning and procurement to support the development of energy storage systems, the development of an offshore wind project in Lake Michigan, and the construction of an underground high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line. Chapter 9 of the Policy Study includes recommendations for the General Assembly as it considers these and other energy proposals.



Prior to releasing the final Policy Study, the Agency released a draft Policy Study on January 22, 2024, and received stakeholder feedback on that draft. The Agency appreciates the time stakeholders took to provide feedback and the Agency carefully considered those comments when preparing the final Policy Study.

Please visit the Policy Study webpage for the final Policy Study, supporting documentation, stakeholder feedback, and additional information.

IPA Releases Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Report

On February 15, the IPA released its Fiscal Year 2023 (FY 23) Annual Report. Prepared in accordance with Section 1-125 of the IPA Act, this report shares statutorily mandated reporting requirements along with information highlighting the clean energy development in the state. The FY 23 Annual Report also utilizes visually appealing charts and graphs to demonstrate the Agency’s work and accomplishments covering the period from July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023, as well as subsequent events in the second half of the calendar year 2023.

The Annual Report presents information on how IPA renewable energy programs and procurements are contributing to clean energy development in Illinois while highlighting challenges and opportunities for putting Illinois on a sharp upward trajectory toward a clean energy future. Additionally, the report shares key insights on the Equity Accountability System, which expands priority access to businesses and workers from historically marginalized communities that have been excluded from benefits of the clean energy economy.

IPA Releases New Resource Guide for Small and Emerging Businesses

On February 23, the IPA released a new resource guide for small and emerging businesses that want to participate in the Illinois Shines and Illinois Solar for All (ILSFA) programs. This guide is intended to help businesses navigate the solar landscape in Illinois by providing essential aspects of the programs and markets.

The Small & Emerging Business Guide is intended to be a valuable tool for small and emerging businesses to learn insights ranging from legislative policies that underpin the programs to key requirements like solar vendor registration, project eligibility, prevailing wage, and job training. The guide also highlights information on financial incentives, consumer protections, certifications, and other supplemental information to successfully access the solar market.

ICC Issues Final Order Approving IPA’s 2024 Long-Term Plan

On February 20, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) issued its Final Order approving the IPA’s 2024 Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan (Long-Term Plan). The Long-Term Plan, developed every two years, details the goals and strategies for the IPA’s renewable energy programs and procurements.

The 2024 Long-Term Plan was released for public comment on August 15. The Agency received a total of 34 comments covering all chapters of the Plan. Commenters included a variety of stakeholders including solar companies, Equity Eligible Contractors, labor organizations, environmental advocacy groups, utilities, and industry associations. The Plan was then filed with the Commission on October 20 and included several novel proposals from the IPA, including the following:

• Seeking express authority to deposit any federal Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund funding received into the Renewable Energy Resources Fund to support Illinois Solar for All Program growth.

• Establishment of a Solar Restitution Fund to provide economic assistance to customers harmed through solar project transactions.

• A workshop process for determining the viability of downstream negotiations of Indexed REC contracts used to support utility-scale wind, utility-scale solar, and brownfield site photovoltaic projects.

• A suite of solutions to address persistent oversubscription of the Group A  Large DG and Small DG program categories (Group A projects are located in the service territories of Ameren Illinois, MidAmerican, Mt. Carmel Public Utility, and rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities located in MISO).  

Each of these proposals was approved by the ICC through its Order approving the Long-Term Plan. The IPA will release additional details around the implementation of these proposals across the weeks and months to come.

Illinois Shines Group B Small Distributed Generation Block Reaches Capacity

On February 5, the annual block of capacity for the Small Distributed Generation (“DG”) category in Group B (the category of Illinois Shines which supports residential rooftop solar development and group for projects located in the service territories of ComEd, and rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities located in PJM) was reached and a soft close period was initiated. After the conclusion of an 8 day soft close period, all applications batched and submitted to the Program under Group B Small DG block after February 13 have been placed on a waitlist. In prior years, the Group B Small DG block of Illinois Shines often failed to reach capacity, so this closure signals growing interest across Illinois homeowners in going solar.

New program capacity for Small DG projects will be released upon the opening of the next Program Year, which commences on June 1, 2024. The Group A Small DG category reached capacity last Fall.

For more information, please visit the Illinois Shines Block Capacity Dashboard.