Stakeholder Feedback Request – Proposed Advance of Capital Evaluation Criteria
A feature of the Equity Accountability System, as established by the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, is the ability of Equity Eligible Contractors (EECs) to request an advance of a portion of REC Contract value prior to the associated project’s energization. This capital advancement pre-energization is intended to serve EEC-certified businesses exhibiting true need and […]
Mentorship Program
The Illinois Shines Mentorship Program, supporting the equity provisions of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, will launch on Monday, October 23, 2023. The inaugural session of the Mentorship Program includes eight meetings and will conclude this winter.
Application Status Update
Two new statuses are now live in the portal and will show in AV project reporting. These statuses are:
Extended Part II Application Processing Times
The Program Administrator provides regular application progress updates on the Program website, including daily updates that began the week of September 18, 2023. In recent weeks, the Program Administrator has received an unusually high number of Small DG Part II applications. Due to these recurring high volumes week over week, Part II application review time […]
Equity Investment Eligible Community (EIEC) Map Updated
As of September 22, 2023, the IPA’s Equity Investment Eligible Community map has been refreshed to include updated Environmental Justice Community areas. These new Environmental Justice Community designations were determined through a process conducted by the Illinois Power Agency’s (IPA) Illinois Solar for All program (ILSFA). The ILSFA team utilized updated data from the 2020 […]
Advance of Capital Authorizations Temporary Pause – Summary
A feature of the Equity Accountability System, as established by the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, is the ability of Equity Eligible Contractors (EECs) to request an advance of a portion of REC Contract value prior to the associated project’s Energization. This capital advancement pre-energization constitutes a significant departure from the standard structure utilized under […]
Notice to Illinois Residents on the Availability of Illinois Shines Incentives for Solar Projects in Central and Southern Illinois
Each Program Year, Illinois Shines is able to provide incentives for a capped amount of solar project capacity for specific project categories. The capacity for Large Distributed Generation (on-site) solar projects—those over 25 kW AC—in Group A has been fully depleted for the Program Year that runs from June 2023 through May 2024. Group A […]
EEC Waitlists
The EEC Group A and B waitlists have been published on the Program website’s and are now available on the Block Capacity Dashboard page. Projects that exceed a given EEC’s developer cap of 36.088 MW are indicated as such and are not eligible for capacity allocation until the 2024-2025 Program Year, regardless of whether additional […]
Update on Certification of EEC AVs and Designees
As announced in the July 21, 2023 announcement, EEPs (Equity-Eligible Persons) that currently serve as the majority-owner of an EEC (Equity Eligible Contractor) AV may not submit additional requests to certify EEC AVs for which they serve as the majority-owner EEP, except for the case of Single-Project AVs. The IPA has received inquiries requesting if […]
Mentorship Pilot Interest Form
The Agency and Program Administrator will launch a Mentorship Pilot program in Fall 2023, with the goal of fostering relationships between market participants and empowering small businesses, Diverse Business Enterprises (DBEs), and Equity Eligible Contractors (EECs) with the tools and training to successfully participate in Illinois Shines. Entities interested in participating in the Mentorship Pilot […]