Program Updates

CDCS Program Year 2025-26 Scores Released, Program Holiday Hours, IPA Webpage on Utility-Scale Projects

The IPA announces new information related to the Illinois Shines program. This announcement includes: Coming Up in Illinois Shines, Stakeholder Support, Program News, and Reference and Reminders. The full announcement is available here. Topics include the following: Coming up in Illinois Shines Stakeholder Support Program News Reference and Reminders Thank you!Illinois

Community-Driven Community Solar Scores for Program Year 2025-2026

On June 2, 2025, the 90-day project application window opened for Community-Driven Community Solar (“CDCS”) for the 2025-2026 Program Year, allowing Approved Vendors (“AVs”) to submit CDCS applications until 11:59 p.m. CPT on September 2, 2025. Capacity available for the CDCS category was 34.07 MW for Group A and 56.99

IPA to Host First Webinar on Elective Pay Tax Benefit

Elective Pay is a new mechanism that allows tax-exempt entities to file a tax return and receive a reimbursement for a portion of their project costs. The IPA is interested in ensuring that entities across Illinois leverage federal incentives for their solar and other clean energy projects, including by using Elective

Updates Following 2025-26 Program Year Re-Opening, Winter Mentorship Registration, Program Releases MES Year-End Report Implementation Report

The IPA announces new information related to the Illinois Shines program. This announcement includes: Coming Up in Illinois Shines, Stakeholder Support, Program News, and Reference and Reminders. The full announcement is available here. Topics include the following: Coming up in Illinois Shines Stakeholder Support Program News Reference and Reminders Thank you!Illinois

Reminders: Closure Date for 180-Day Prioritization Window for Public Schools Subcategory and Designee Renewal Deadline

As set forth in the Long-Term Plan and the Program Guidebook, the following items have December 1, 2025, deadlines: 180-Day Prioritization Window for Public Schools SubcategoriesAs stated in the Program Guidebook Section 1.E, Public Schools capacity is allocated by Group, tier, location, and project size subcategories. If any of the

Updates Following 2025-26 Program Year Re-Opening

Following the Order on the 2024 Long-Term Plan Re-Opening, a brief Program pause occurred to undertake data and reporting updates, and to allocate capacity to waitlisted applications. The pause concluded on October 31, 2025, at 8:00 a.m. CPT. The Portal and Program website were updated to reflect the Order’s instruction

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