Illinois Moves Forward On Ambitious Renewable Energy Plans

On Tuesday, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) approved, with modifications, the Illinois Power Agency’s (IPA) Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan, which the ICC predicts will stimulate significant new investments in solar and wind power.

The plan was adopted pursuant to Public Act 99-0906, also known as the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA), which requires the ICC to approve a long-term renewable resources procurement plan. Signed into law by Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2016, FEJA lays out a path for electric utilities to get 25% of their power from renewable resources by 2025. The commission says its final order is consistent with the intent of FEJA to increase wind and solar development in Illinois.

“The changes adopted by the commission ensure that all Illinoisans and all regions of the state will benefit from the development of renewable energy resources and the strengthening our clean energy economy,” says Anastasia Palivos, the ICC’s acting commissioner. “The ICC would like to thank the Illinois Power Agency and other stakeholders involved in this important and complex proceeding. We look forward to working closely with the IPA to ensure the plan’s successful execution and a greener Illinois.”

Changes adopted by the commission ensure that projects within the boundaries of municipally owned utilities and rural electric cooperatives in the state, largely in central and southern illinois, will be able to participate in programs under the plan, says the ICC.

According to the commission, the plan addresses how the IPA will implement a variety of programs and procurements to meet its obligations to purchase renewable energy credits (RECs), such as the Illinois Solar for All Program, created to provide a solar market for low-income households and communities.

Additional highlights of the approved plan include as follows:

• Auditing procedures to ensure Illinois residents benefit from the plan;
• Additional incentives and rewards for projects benefiting the public, especially low-income communities;
• Adoption of a higher threshold in the public interest criteria used to evaluate the procurement of RECs from generation facilities in neighboring states – in turn, maximizing job creation in Illinois; and
• Elimination of all spot REC procurements to increase investment in new renewable resources that will help meet Illinois’ long-term renewable energy goals.

The first two procurements under the plan for utility-scale wind and brownfield solar development are expected to occur this summer. Solar procurements under the plan will take place following the hiring of an IPA program administrator. The IPA is expected to update the plan in 2019, until which time the commission will monitor execution and implementation of the plan.

“Hundreds of millions of investment dollars will soon be flowing into developing clean wind and solar projects that will power Illinois homes and businesses,” notes Christie Hicks, manager of clean energy regulatory implementation at the Environmental Defense Fund. “Not only is Illinois solidifying its place at the forefront of America’s clean energy economy, it’s showing other states how to provide equitable access to renewables.”

“This plan and Illinois’ modernized renewable energy policy put our state on the map as one of the nation’s solar leaders,” says Brad Klein, senior attorney at the Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC), an environmental advocacy group in the Midwest. “We thank the Illinois Power Agency for their work to develop a plan that will benefit all Illinoisans, and we thank the ICC for addressing shortfalls in the proposed order to pass a strong plan that will drive renewable energy development.”

“The Environmental Law & Policy Center’s analysis shows that through 2030, this plan will lead to the development of enough solar energy and wind power to provide electricity to more than 825,000 homes,” adds MeLena Hessel, policy advocate at ELPC.

The plan is expected to vault Illinois into the top tier of states for development of renewable energy resources, the ICC notes.

“With every policy, the devil is the details, and after the [2016] law passed, we needed a strong plan to drive growth in wind and solar in Illinois,” Hessel continues. “This plan is a solid step forward.”