Summary:

Illinois Solar for All, an initiative meant to spur the solar market in low-income and rural areas, as well as among renters and people of color is now accepting applications. The program provides renewable energy credits paid up-front for the creation of residential and community solar for underserved residents, as well as for nonprofit organizations and public agencies that are located in marginalized areas or provide a critical societal function.

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Main Article:

Illinois Solar for All is designed to serve people traditionally left out of the solar market: low-income households, including rural homeowners and renters in urban apartment buildings; people of color; and residents of environmental justice communities most impacted by pollution from fossil fuels.

The program provides renewable energy credits paid up-front for the creation of residential and community solar for underserved residents, as well as for nonprofit organizations and public agencies that are located in marginalized areas or provide a critical societal function.

On May 15, the Illinois Solar for All application period opened for projects seeking to participate.

The renewable energy credit prices that those generating solar receive are much greater under Illinois Solar for All compared to the main Future Energy Jobs Act program that incentivizes solar development.

For example, a credit — equivalent to 1,000 kilowatt-hours — would draw between $72 and $85 for a small (under 10 kilowatts) system in the main Future Energy Jobs Act program, and a credit for such a system on a building of fewer than five units would be worth $143 under Illinois Solar for All. Renewable energy credit prices under Illinois Solar for All versus the main program are roughly 30% to 50% higher for larger systems as well, as are credit prices for community solar under Illinois Solar for All.

The ultimate size of the program is based on the funding available. Illinois Solar for All is likely to result in a total of 8 to 12 megawatts of new solar, according to Vito Greco, associate director of solar programs for Elevate Energy, the nonprofit organization that runs the program. The Illinois Power Agency, which procures power on behalf of utilities, oversees the distribution of solar incentives created by the Future Energy Jobs Act.

How it works

For a project to be funded under Illinois Solar for All, first solar developers need to become approved vendors. Developers then team up with customers who meet Illinois Solar for All criteria, and submit their proposed project. The projects are evaluated based on a point system with points given for criteria including the customer’s income, geographic location, and whether women- or minority-owned businesses or employees would be involved.

A quarter of the program’s funds are reserved for projects located in environmental justice communities that disproportionately suffer from pollution. Another quarter of the funds are designated for low-income communities.

Evaluation on such criteria should avoid the confusion and dissatisfaction that plagued the distribution of renewable energy credits, or RECs, under the larger adjustable block REC program created by the Future Energy Jobs Act. Under that program, exponentially more projects applied in the community solar category than credits were available, so a lottery was used to decide who could participate. Critics said it wasn’t the best way to make sure the most viable and deserving projects were built.

Greco said there’s a chance “random selection” could be used in the later stages of Illinois Solar for All, “if there are projects that are ranked the same and not enough budget is allocated … to fund both.”

If a project is accepted into Illinois Solar for All, the solar developer will get the REC money up front, and pass on the incentive to their customers either through a reduced cost for the installation or through a third-party ownership agreement wherein the developer owns the solar installation and the customer gets the energy for a monthly fee.

Such third-party arrangements are a common way for customers without sufficient capital to take advantage of solar energy. In this case, customers would pay less each month to the developer-owner than in a typical arrangement. In fact, the Future Energy Jobs Act says that Illinois Solar for All customers can’t pay more than half of what they would have paid a utility for the same amount of power.

Community-driven

Unlike other renewable energy credit programs where the credits pay out after the installation is online, the RECs under Illinois Solar for All are awarded before installation, based on the predicted generation for 15 years.

Since many residents of the communities targeted by Illinois Solar for All have never seen solar as a viable option, recruiting potential customers has been seen as an important challenge. Illinois Solar for All includes funding for outreach and education in partnership with community organizations like the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization and downstate organizations serving rural areas.