The Illinois Commerce Commission recently approved the Illinois Power Agency's $1.1 billion renewable resource procurement plan for the next two years.
The 2024 Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan is designed to encourage investment in both utility-scale and community solar projects, as well as utility-scale wind, hydropower, and other clean energy projects in Illinois.
The 2024 plan includes the Illinois Power Authority’s proposed procurement of Renewable Energy Credits for Ameren Illinois, Commonwealth Edison, and MidAmerican Energy for the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 program years.
The Illinois Commerce Commission is required by statute to review the procurement plan every two years.
The long-term procurement plan specifically approves six procurement blocks under the Illinois Shines Program, which previously featured three project categories: small distributed generation, large distributed generation, and community solar. The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act expanded the categories to include public schools, community-driven solar projects, and projects from equity eligible contractors.
The ICC also approved five reforms proposed by the Illinois Power Authority to address the persistent issue of Group A small distributed generation and large distributed generation blocks filling up more quickly than those in Group B, primarily in the Ameren Illinois/MidAmerican service territories.
The ICC said the reforms are designed to maximize the ongoing development of clean energy projects in the state and would, among other things, eliminate the distinction between Group A and Group B for the purposes of allocating capacity across both distributed generation categories, increase the overall size of the Illinois Shines program from 667 MW to 800 MW annually, and adjust the prioritization for the reallocation of uncontracted capacity at the close of each annual program year.
The ICC’s final order also included several equity provisions aimed at fairly directing the economic benefits from clean energy to low-income communities and those subject to disproportionate levels of pollution and directed the Illinois Power Authority to initiate a stakeholder process on how to increase awareness and participation in the Illinois Solar For All program.
