The Illinois Power Agency is pleased to announce updates to the Income-Eligibility and Environmental Justice Communities (“EJC”) maps for the Illinois Solar for All (“ILSFA”) program. The updated Income-Eligibility and EJC maps are now available. Initial and updated determinations will both be considered as meeting program goals and selection points for the 2023-2024 program year.
Income-Eligibility Map
As detailed in section 8.10.3.1. of the 2022 Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan (“2022 Plan”), the Income-Eligibility Map identifies census tracts where 50% of the households earn no more than 80% of the Area Median Income.
The Income-Eligibility map features two data layers, including updated and previous income-eligible census tracts. Additionally, the Income-Eligibility map features a “Find Address” widget to navigate the map quickly.
The updated Income-Eligibility map is available on the ILSFA website.
Environmental Justice Communities Map
As detailed in section 8.12. of the 2022 Plan, the EJC map identifies Environmental Justice Communities by Illinois census block groups, incorporating various environmental indicators from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s EJSCREEN Tool, such as air toxics cancer risk, respiratory hazard index, diesel PM, ozone, and proximity to hazardous sites. For more information on how EJCs are determined, see section 8.12.2. of the 2022 Plan.
The EJC map features multiple layers of data, including updated and previously designated communities designated as Environmental Justice Communities based on calculations (as detailed in section 8.12.2. of the 2022 Plan) and Self-Designated Environmental Justice Communities (as detailed in section 8.12.3. of the 2022 Plan). Similar to the Income-Eligibility map, the Environmental Justice Community map has the option to search by address via a “Find Address” widget.
Self-Designated Environmental Justice Communities
While the initial designation and updated designations are based on the calculated scores, communities that did not qualify can request self-designation as an Environmental Justice Community. Community-based organizations, local units of government, and residents can submit a request based on additional quantitative and qualitative environmental and socioeconomic factors that may not have been captured in the screening process. To seek self-designation, communities must go through the Environmental Justice Community Self-Designation Process and receive approval before submitting any project applications that utilize the approved Self-Designated Environmental Justice Community status for project selection.
Previously designated Self-Designated Environmental Justice Communities are maintained through this update. Environmental Justice Community Self-Designation applications were reviewed to ensure previous Self-Designated locations were accurately reflected in the updated Environmental Justice Communities Census Block Groups.
The updated Environmental Justice Communities map is available and can be found under the Environmental Justice Communities page of the ILSFA website.