The annual block of capacity for the Traditional Community Solar (TCS) Group A block has been filled. Section 1.G of the Program Guidebook provides for a soft close period which allows the block to remain open for seven calendar days or when the next project applications submitted to the block would exceed capacity by 10 megawatts.
For Program Year 2026-27, 119.52 MW of capacity was allocated for TCS Group A. Following the application of available capacity for projects waitlisted in this category, the remaining capacity for TCS Group A was 103.52 MW for this Program Year. The block reached capacity at 3:21 p.m. CPT, July 1, 2026, when a batch submittal reached the 119.52 MW allotted for this category for the 2026-27 Program Year. The soft close period will begin today, July 2, 2026, and extend until July 9, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. CPT or until 10 additional megawatts of capacity are batched and submitted to the Program. Projects submitted during this soft close period will not be subject to the TCS scoring mechanism. Currently, 122.00 MW have been allocated and batched to the TCS Group A block including projects that composed the waitlist.
The Program Administrator will announce if the 10 MW of soft close capacity is reached prior to July 9, 2026.
Once the soft close period has concluded, the Program Administrator will announce that the block is closed. All subsequently submitted applications will be subject to the TCS scoring mechanism outlined in Appendix E of the 2026-27 Program Guidebook. Only projects meeting the scoring threshold of 5 points may be considered for an eligible spot on the waitlist for the TCS category. At this time, new capacity for this category is planned for the 2027-28 Program Year and is expected to be available on June 1, 2027.
Thank you!
Illinois Shines Program
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