Power Pulse!

A quarterly newsletter featuring the latest news and information

from the Illinois Power Agency.

Our vision is to provide a clean, reliable, equitable, and cost-effective

energy future for residents and businesses across Illinois.

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On June 3, the Illinois Shines solar incentive program opened for the 2024-25 Program Year, offering new and expanded capacity across project categories to continue the swift development of solar projects across Illinois.

Since the Illinois Shines program’s launch in 2019, Group A (projects located in the Ameren/MISO portion of Illinois) and the Small and Large Distributed Generation (DG) solar project categories have historically exhausted available capacity at a faster rate than the same categories in Group B (projects located in the ComEd/PJM portion of Illinois). Given the growing interest of project development across the state and an ongoing need to support projects proposed for central and southern Illinois, the IPA proposed the following reforms in our 2024 Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan:

• Eliminating the distinction between Group A and Group B for the Small DG and Large DG categories.
• Increasing the overall size of the Illinois Shines program from 667 MW to 800 MW.
• Adjusting the prioritizations for the reallocated uncontracted capacity at close of Program Year.
• Prioritizing waitlisted DG projects from the prior program year to help ensure sufficient program capacity for Illinois homeowners and businesses.
• Instituting a price adjustment cap for changes to Renewable Energy Credit (REC) prices for waitlisted projects.

The new program year also includes dedicated capacity allocation for DG projects within Public Schools and Equity Eligible Contractor (“EEC”) categories. 75% capacity of the Public Schools category will be set aside for DG projects and 25% of the category will be set aside for Community Solar projects. Additionally, to ensure that DG projects in the EEC category have dedicated capacity available, EEC capacity for Group A and B will be split 75% for Community Solar and 25% distributed generation for the first 11 months of Program Year 2024-25.

Through these changes, the Agency hopes for a steady, predictable, and sustainable growth of new solar development in Illinois. Since Program inception in 2019, Illinois Shines has supported the development of nearly 69,000 residential projects and nearly 3,200 nonresidential new solar projects in Illinois. 

IPA to Host Educational Webinar Series for Legislators and Staff

The IPA is launching a new educational webinar series entitled “IPA Summer School: Lunch & Learn for Legislators and Staff.” This series is designed to introduce legislators, government leaders, and staff to the IPA, its solar incentive programs, and the IPA’s progress toward achieving clean energy and equity goals.

Running from July through September, this four-part introductory webinar series will feature the following sessions:

• Session 1: "Understanding the IPA's Solar Incentive Programs" on Thursday, July 18, from 12:15-1pm

• Session 2: "Understanding how Consumer Protections for the IPA's Solar Incentive Programs Work" on Thursday, August 15, from 12:15-1pm

• Session 3: "Advancing IPA's Equity Initiatives in the Clean Energy Transition" on Thursday, September 5, from 12:15-1pm

• Session 4: "IPA's Clean Energy Dashboard & Progress Toward State Clean Energy Goals" on Thursday, September 19, from 12:15-1pm

Registration is required to attend these sessions. To attend, please register in advance on the IPA website. Sessions will be recorded for future viewing by registrants.

For additional information, please email IPA Legislative Affairs Manager Whitney Richardson at Whitney.Richardson@illinois.gov.

On April 22, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced an award of $156 million through the Illinois Finance Authority/Climate Bank (IFA) to expand existing solar incentive programs and bring the benefits of solar energy to low-income and disadvantaged communities across Illinois.

This award is part of the comprehensive $7 billion federal Solar for All program grant competition through the Inflation Reduction Act to enable underserved and disadvantaged communities to lower energy costs, create quality jobs, and tackle the climate crisis. The U.S. EPA selected 60 applicants to receive funding.

A portion of the awarded funds will help the IPA expand access to the Illinois Shines and Illinois Solar for All programs. Funding will also provide financial assistance to support health and safety for income-eligible customers, enable energy upgrades (including incorporating energy storage), support community-driven projects, and provide critical capital to diverse solar vendors.

The IPA appreciates the IFA’s work in implementing new standardized financial tools to reduce the cost of decarbonization for all Illinoisans and making sure that the benefits of a clean energy economy are shared equitably. Funding is expected to roll out in late 2024.

To learn more about the funding opportunity and stakeholder engagement around the award, visit the Illinois Climate Bank page on the IFA website. 

Energy Workforce Equity Portal Sees Continued Growth and Improvement

The IPA’s Energy Workforce Equity Portal helps connect clean energy companies with Equity Eligible Persons (EEPs) looking to work in the clean energy sector in Illinois.

The Portal serves as a valuable tool for job seekers to find out if they qualify as EEPs, register to be listed on the Portal, and view clean energy job postings from employers seeking to hire EEPs. It also allows companies to register existing employees as EEPs with permission from those employees.

Since its launch, the Portal has become a cornerstone in the state's mission to equitably grow its clean energy industry. To date, 140 clean energy companies have registered to use the Portal with 170 jobs posted to the Portal. 539 EEPs have registered on the Portal where potential employers can discover them.

Additionally, the IPA has recently refreshed the Equity Investment Eligible Community (EIEC) Map to reflect the removal of previously eligible 2022 Environmental Justice Community (EJC) areas used in Program Year 2023-24. As part of the EIC map refresh, the IPA has updated the structure of the EIEC webpage on the Energy Workforce Equity Portal to increase accessibility and improve the user experience.

To learn about how clean energy companies can register and post clean energy jobs, visit the Portal’s Employers page. To learn about how job seekers can qualify as EEPs and register in the Portal, visit the Job Seekers page.

Questions about the Portal can be directed to IPA.EnergyEquity@illinois.gov.

External Events Featuring IPA Speakers 

Across June 3-4, the IPA co-hosted the annual Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) 2024 Members Meeting in Rosemont, IL. Thirteen IPA staff members attended the two-day sessions. IPA Director and former CESA Board Vice President Brian Granahan delivered the meeting’s welcome remarks, underscoring the importance of sharing knowledge across states and outlining the value of platforms like CESA in helping state officials learn best practices from their nationwide peers.   

The CESA Annual Meeting provides an opportunity for CESA members (mostly state agencies, including the IPA) to collaborate on multi-state efforts, learn from each other about emerging clean energy challenges, and learn best practices from other policy experts across the country.



This year’s event featured two distinct tracks of sessions—one pertaining to energy equity, and another on energy storage—and provided members a terrific learning opportunity on best practices and lessons learned. This year’s meeting included a trip to see the rooftop solar system at the Shedd Aquarium, and to learn the challenges the Shedd has faced with battery storage and frequency regulation. 

For more information, please visit the CESA website. 

IPA Presents at Great Plains Institute Virtual Workshop

On May 23, the Great Plains Institute (GPI) – a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that accelerates the transition to net-zero carbon emissions – hosted its third virtual workshop on navigating the Low-Impact Solar Development Process in Illinois. Workshop 3: Community Solar: Accessing Incentives and Tax Credits; Community Solar Development explored the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), relevant tax credits, and renewable project eligibility.

Attendees gained key insights about tax credit opportunities under the IRA, direct-pay opportunities with local governments, community solar development opportunities, and more.

This workshop was facilitated by GPI Senior Program Manager of Renewable Energy Monika Vadali, and featured a presentation from IPA Senior Advisor and Planning & Procurement Bureau Chief Anthony Star.

For more information, please visit the Workshops page on the GPI website.

IPA Staff Presents at NEUAC 2024 Annual Conference

IPA Director Joins 2024 Midwest Solar Expo Fireside Chat

On May 21, IPA Director Brian Granahan joined Vote Solar Senior Midwest Director John Delurey for a fireside chat at the Midwest Solar Expo 2024. The discussion included updates on the Agency’s renewable energy efforts, consumer protection issues, and critical challenges for the Agency and the state in the years to come. The Agency thanks the organizers of the Midwest Solar Expo for facilitating this discussion.

For more information, please visit the Midwest Solar Expo 2024 website.

IPA Staff Moderates Panel at CESA IRA Implementation Summit

Across April 17-18, IPA Deputy Legal Counsel Sarah Duffy moderated a panel discussion at the CESA Summit to Support State Implementation. The summit covered renewable energy financing as it relates to the IRA and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The panel discussion focused on the Direct Pay option for the federal Investment Tax Credit, an important new funding source for project owners that have traditionally been excluded from the tax credits market due to tax-exempt status. The panel examined case studies from two states and a developer, and examined how states can prepare to participate or have participated in the Direct Pay option.

Panelists for the event included Ryan Cook, Senior Manager of Innovation & Development at Energy Trust of Oregon; Pete Wyckoff, Assistant Commissioner in the Energy Division at the Minnesota Department of Commerce; and David Wright, LEED AP, Vice President of Energy Programs at Groundswell, a nonprofit in the community solar space. The Agency thanks the CESA for hosting this important summit.

IPA Staff and Illinois Shines Program Administrator Present at Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools

On May 16, Illinois Shines Program Associate Emily Asbury and Energy Solutions Public School Sector Strategist Jozsef Raduly presented on the Illinois Shines Public Schools category at the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools. The presentation highlighted public school incentives within Illinois Shines along with information on school electricity savings and educational opportunities for students to learn about solar energy.

To learn more about the Program’s Public Schools category, please visit the Illinois Shines website. For questions, please contact Public School Sector Strategist Jozsef Raduly at jraduly@energy-solution.com.