As communicated on July 2, 2026, the annual block of capacity for Traditional Community Solar (TCS) Group A 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 application submitted to the block would exceed capacity by 10 megawatts (MW). A soft close period was initiated for the project category on July 2, 2026.
On July 9, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. CPT, the soft period concluded after seven calendar days had elapsed. As a result, in accordance with the Program Guidebook, any applications batched and submitted to the Program under the TCS Group A category after the conclusion of the soft close period will be subject to the scoring mechanism outlined in Appendix E of the 2026-27 Program Guidebook. Only projects meeting this scoring threshold of 5 points may be considered for an eligible spot on the waitlist for the TCS category. The original block size for TCS Group A was 119.52 MW and as of the conclusion of the soft close period, the total batched project capacity for TCS Group A is 125.49 MW.
At this time, new capacity for this category is planned for the 2027-28 Program year and expected to be available on June 1, 2027.
Thank you!
Illinois Shines Program
[email protected]