The Illinois Power Agency (the Agency) and Illinois Solar for All (ILSFA) Program Administrator propose updates to the ILSFA Approved Vendor Manual for Program Year 6. The Program Administrator is publishing a draft of the updated Approved Vendor Manual to clarify and ensure ILSFA guidelines remain consistent with the 2022 Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan (the 2022 Plan).

The Illinois Power Agency and the ILSFA Program Administrator are seeking feedback on the proposed changes to the Approved Vendor Manual from stakeholders and other interested parties. Below is a list of specific changes on which feedback is sought. A list of substantive updates to the Approved Vendor Manual is provided in Section 19.1 of the draft document.

Responses will be made public and published on the ILSFA website. However, should a commenter seek to designate any portion of its response as confidential, that commenter should provide both public and redacted versions. Independent of that designation, if the Agency or the Program Administrator determines that a response contains confidential information that should not be disclosed, it reserves the right to provide its own redactions.

Responses are due no later than June 13, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. CT and should be sent to comments@IllinoisSFA.com.

The Agency and the Program Administrator have made the following changes to the Approved Vendor Manual and are seeking feedback on the following:

• The ILSFA Environmental Justice Community Map and the Income-Eligibility Community Map have been updated based on the 2020 census. Projects impacted by the updated maps will be allowed to utilize the previous version of the map for the 2023-2024 Program Year
• Clarification on the duration of O&M guarantees in relation to a loan agreement for a system purchase
• Community Solar subscriber management and waitlist procedures were added
• A Single Project Approved Vendor must meet the job training requirements of at least 10% of all hours performed by Qualified Job Trainees for a project
• For Residential (Large) projects (multi-family projects of 5+ units) where the participant purchases the system, the building owner’s first-year savings may be less than 50% so long as the calculation of that customer’s expected ongoing savings demonstrates that this requirement would be met through overall savings applied across the full 15 years of the REC delivery contract
• Guidelines around AVs interactions with Grassroots Education Organizations were added
• Approved Vendors, designees, subcontractors, and agents must notify the Program Administrator prior to any media interviews or disseminating press releases related to the ILSFA program to confirm that program benefits are conveyed clearly and accurately
• Updated language for the PY6 version of the Disclosure Forms and new Disclosure Form process
•  Added language transitioning from PVWatts version 6 to PVWatts version 8, along with a footnote regarding the switch
• The current standard REC contracts will be amended to include specific terms for projects participating in the Home Repairs and Upgrades Pilot
• Added inspection requirements for projects utilizing Home Repair funds
• Added a sub-section with information on reporting requirements on demographic and geographic data for staff and subcontractors
• Seeking feedback on a proposal from previous public comments recommending the exclusion of police stations, jails, prisons, and immigration centers from consideration as Critical Service Providers that could qualify as participants in the Non-profit and Public Facilities sub-program.

The Agency and Program Administrator believe the Program should maintain robust protections against gaming, substandard work, and a negative customer experience but are open to feedback on further process improvements.

The Program Administrator will host a webinar to review proposed changes to the Approved Vendor Manual on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. CT. Register today for an opportunity to ask questions and share feedback.