The newly released Illinois Shines 2022-2023 Program Year Report demonstrates the incredible progress Illinois Shines continues to deliver for the solar industry in the Prairie State.
Thanks to Illinois Shines, nearly 475 MW of total new solar capacity was added this year. In total, the Illinois Commerce Commission approved 8,379 program applications that span small distributed generation, large DG, traditional community solar and community-driven community solar and public schools. This is a huge achievement – Illinois currently has 2,212 MW of solar capacity installed, according to our partners at the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). The new projects approved by Illinois Shines will provide a significant boost to the state’s total capacity.
These new projects provided savings for customers, generating $245 million in invoiced incentive payments. More than 30,000 homes and businesses benefited from 266 MW of new community-driven or traditional community solar projects, and the program approved more than 8,200 applications for small distributed generation projects, generating 95.1 MW.
Creating Equitable Jobs
Illinois Shines is helping build a diverse, equitable solar workforce. There are now 527 total Approved Vendors (AVs) for the program, after 102 new AVs were added in the last year. Of the new AVs, 18 new Equity Eligible Contractors (EEC) received AV certification, and an additional nine EEC Designees were registered.
The program also launched the Energy Workforce Equity Portal, published the “Guide to the Equity Accountability System,” and hosted office hours and informational webinars to help guide individuals and companies through the process.
Our state’s commitment to equity is clear: EEC projects accounted for 162.76 MW of solar capacity allocations in the program year.
Fighting for Consumers
As always, Illinois Shines remained committed to consumer protection. The program received 309 complaints; out of those complaints, 123 were resolved, 131 were closed, and 51 remain under investigation. The program also launched the Stranded Customer Support initiative, created a Consumer Protection Handbook, and called for stakeholder feedback on consumer protection initiatives.
Our Perspective
As strong supporters of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), the members of Solar Powers Illinois are overjoyed to see the progress that Illinois Shines and our state made in the last year thanks to CEJA’s provisions.
We eagerly await to see what the future brings and hope that the program continues to improve each year!
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