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Welcome to Illinois Shines

Building our solar future

The Benefits of Solar
How to Participate
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Illinois Shines makes “going solar” more affordable for people across Illinois. With valuable incentives, step-by-step guidance, important consumer protections, and an emphasis on equity, Illinois Shines ensures everyone in Illinois can play a role in our clean energy future. The Program supports the State’s targets to have 40% of its energy come from renewable energy sources such as solar by 2030, 50% by 2040, and 100% clean energy by 2050.

Graphic of IL Shines renewable energy targets. The program will help the state source this amount of renewable energy by year: 40% by 2030, 50% by 2040, 100% by 2050.

The Benefits of Solar

More consumers, businesses, and communities are choosing solar because of its many benefits.

Environmental Benefits

Replacing fossil fuels with solar energy as a source to generate electricity reduces air pollution, helps fight climate change, and contributes to a healthy environment. Solar power, generated from a clean and renewable supply of sunlight, is helping reduce demand on traditional power plants, which often use coal or natural gas. Less usage of fossil fueled plants means reduced environmental and health impacts and slows the effects of climate change.

Economic Stimulation

Increased solar installations due to incentive programs like Illinois Shines create local jobs and economic growth. In Illinois, hundreds of solar companies help build, sell, install, and service solar panels for customers, creating an enormous economic impact. The passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act in September 2021, expanded the Illinois Shines program and created equity requirements for the Program that ensure that the Program is a trailblazer in developing a diverse clean energy workforce and creating lasting community benefits, further feeding the state’s economic engine so that all can share in the benefits of a clean energy economy.

Financial Benefits

As solar technology costs decrease and incentives increase, customers may be able to lower utility bills by generating their own electricity, or by subscribing to a community solar project. Customers should still carefully consider costs, review installation or subscription contracts, and be aware of the variability of future energy rates.

Ways to Participate in Illinois Shines

Distributed Generation (DG)

Distributed Generation refers to a variety of technologies that generate electricity at or near where it will be used, such as solar panels. Solar photovoltaic (PV) projects are one of the most common types of Distributed Generation; PV solar panels can be installed directly on the roof or land of a home, property, school, business, or other structure.
Explore Distributed Generation

Community Solar (CS)

Community Solar refers to a solar project, within a geographic area, in which the benefits flow to multiple customers such as individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and other groups. In most Community Solar cases, customers benefit from energy generated by solar panel array at an off-site location. Large, centralized solar projects can provide electricity to subscribers who don’t want to install solar panels on their own property or may not have access to property where they can install solar. This is a great option for renters or homeowners for whom installing solar panels isn’t practical or cost-effective.
Explore Community Solar

Illinois Shines provides incentives to solar vendors to develop different types of projects, which can be passed on to customers. Illinois Shines helps you find approved solar vendors, understand which project type might be right for you, and understand the financial considerations of these options. To learn more about RECs, visit Solar and Illinois Shines Basics. To learn more about Distributed Generation and Community Solar in Illinois Shines, and how to consider which project type, vendor, and financial options may be right for you, visit Exploring Solar.

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The sun setting over a field of solar arrays in a lush, green landscape.
Illinois Shines logo in all white.

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Illinois Shines (statutorily known as the Adjustable Block Program) is administered by Energy Solutions on behalf of the Illinois Power Agency, an independent state government agency.

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