Illinois Solar for All News
2018-2019 Projects Selected
The first round of Illinois Solar for All (ILSFA) projects have been selected! On Wednesday, August 21, 2019, the Program Administrator used the Project Selection Protocol to determine project selections for the Low-Income Community Solar sub-program. The selected projects within this sub-program for the 2018-2019 program year have been posted here:
The last project selected has incentive values greater than the remaining annual sub-program budget available within the Renewable Energy Resources Fund. In this case, the Approved Vendor for this project has the choice of how to proceed with their project, as outlined in the Project Selection Protocol and further clarified in the program announcement from Thursday, August 15, 2019. The Approved Vendor has until Wednesday, August 28, 2019 to notify the Program Administrator of its decision. A final project list will be published when the sub-program budget has been fully allocated.
The list of selected Non-Profit/Public Facilities projects for the 2018-2019 program year has been posted below.
Funds not allocated to 2018-2019 program year project applications will be rolled over to the 2019-2020 program year budgets.
Project Window Opening Soon
The ILSFA 2019-2020 program year kicks off soon! The project submission window opens at 9:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, September 4, 2019 for all sub-programs. Approved Vendors can submit projects until Tuesday, September 17, 2019 at 5:00 PM CDT. The program year timeline can be found here.
New Documents Available
For the 2019-2020 program year, certain types of buildings in the Low-Income Distributed Generation and Non-Profit/Public Facilities sub-programs are now required to complete the Affordability Agreement and Qualified Tenant Agreement documents. These documents must be submitted during the project submission window for consideration in the 2019-2020 program year.
Grassroots Education Updates
Our 11 grassroots education organizations are gearing up and planning their outreach events! We’re excited to see them implement their campaigns soon to educate residents on opportunities to benefit from Illinois Solar for All. Events are being added to the calendar each week. Make sure to check back often to find updates.
Our featured Grassroots Education Organization is Community Organizing & Family Issues (COFI). COFI trains and supports teams of low-income parent leaders as they work to improve their communities on behalf of children and families. COFI is building on the success of their STOP DEBT campaign, which included engagement around high utility costs and the challenge of utility debt. Focusing on Chicago’s Englewood and New City neighborhoods and in the city of East St. Louis, COFI’s team of Solar Ambassadors (pictured above) will share information on ILSFA and help interested residents to take the first step.
Environmental Justice Communities Map
The Environmental Justice Community (EJC) Address Lookup Tool has been updated to reflect the EJCs created through the Self-Designation process. Self-designated communities are shaded in blue, while EJCs designated using the U.S. EPA tool EJ Screen are shaded in orange.
Communities may submit an Environmental Justice Community Self-Designation application at any time. However, in order for a potential designation to be applicable for projects submitted during the 2019-2020 project submission window, applications must be received by 5:00 PM CDT on Friday, August 23, 2019.
Details on how to apply as a part of the Environmental Justice Community Self-Designation process can be found here.
Job Training Events
Reminder! Approved Vendors, solar developers, and contractors can connect with Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) trainees and installers ready to work on solar projects on Tuesday, September 17, 2019 from 3:00 to 6:00 PM CDT. Register here today! Visit the Job Training Providers directory to learn more about participating job training organizations.