Illinois Shines has an expected turnaround time for review of Part I and Part II applications of 10 days, and the Program provides daily application progress updates on the Project Application Reports page of the Program website. Due to a simultaneous spike in Small DG Part I applications and Part II application submissions, including a high volume of applications with battery schematics, the turnaround time for Part I and Part II application reviews is currently far beyond its expected timeframe. Part I application review time is currently nine weeks and Part II application review time is currently seven weeks.
The Program received 2,653 Part I applications in a single week and nearly 7,000 for the month of April, as compared to 350 submissions in a typical week. In response to this influx of applications, and to support customers and Approved Vendors (AVs) seeking project approvals under the 2024 REC Delivery Contract prior to the start of the 2026-27 Program Year, the Program Administrator reallocated resources and staff to Part I reviews in May and continues to work diligently to process as many Part I applications as possible.
The Program Administrator understands the importance of processing applications within expected timeframes. To address the remaining queues and resume meeting the two-week processing target, the Program Administrator is in the process of hiring additional application processors, who will receive extensive training to efficiently and accurately review project applications. To support the increase in battery schematic submissions, the Program has added technical review capacity in recent weeks and anticipates a Program Portal upgrade later this summer. As we build capacity and ensure that other Program administration areas receive required attention, we anticipate a return to the target two-week review time for Part I applications by mid-August and Part II by the end of September. The Program Administrator continues to prioritize the review of applications based upon the submission date.
The Program Administrator is available to support AVs and Designees with application questions. The status of individual applications can be searched using the website’s recently upgraded Project Look Up Tool. We appreciate stakeholder patience as we work to return to typical processing timelines.
Thank you!
Illinois Shines Program
[email protected]