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Exploring Illinois Shines and Illinois Solar for All
Illinois Shines (also known as the Adjustable Block Program) and Illinois Solar for All (ILSFA) are state incentive programs that support solar project development in Illinois.
To participate in either of these Illinois Power Agency (IPA) Programs, solar companies must register as Approved Vendors (AVs) with the Illinois Shines program. Solar developers and contractors that submit project applications to the Programs must submit a detailed application to participate in the program, which will then be reviewed and approved by the Program Administrator. After solar companies are vetted by Program Administrators, they may be approved and held to rigorous consumer protection standards. Upon approval, these companies will submit an application for an on-site (distributed generation) solar project to the applicable Program or subscribe a customer to an existing community solar project. The approval process must be completed before any project applications can be submitted to the Program.
What are the financing and ownership options for installing solar under the IPA’s programs?
Financing and ownership options vary by project. Here are the three most common options:
Lease of Solar Project
- The customer leases a project. The project is located on customer’s property but is owned by a solar contractor.
Purchase of Solar Project
- The customer purchases a solar project outright and may take out a third-party loan to finance the purchase, if needed.
Purchase of Electricity from Solar Project
- The customer purchases electricity generated by a solar project through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The project is located on the customer’s property, but is owned by a solar contractor that sells electricity to the customer.
What consumer protection requirements apply to projects in IPA Programs?
To ensure that customers participating in the Programs have positive experiences, the IPA has incorporated comprehensive, robust, and effective consumer protection requirements into both Illinois Shines and ILSFA. To prevent misleading sales practices and facilitate comparison of multiple solar offers, solar developers and contractors are required to provide customers with a standard Disclosure Form, which customers must review and sign before signing a contract. Disclosure Forms are designed to provide customers with clear and consistent information about the proposed solar project or community solar subscription offered to the customer.
Learn more about which program may be right for you:
Who is eligible to participate?
Illinois Shines
- All Illinois residents
- Commercial and Industrial customers
- Public schools
Illinois Solar for All
- Income-eligible Illinois residents (renters, homeowners, and landlords)
- Nonprofit organizations and public entities that are Critical Service Providers located in environmental justice or low-income communities
How can someone participate?
Illinois Shines
- Residential, commercial, and industrial utility customers can participate by installing solar panels directly on their roofs or mounting them on their property (often referred to as “distributed generation” or “DG”).
- Residential, commercial, and industrial customers can participate as subscribers in a community solar (“CS”) project.
- Public Schools can participate by installing on-site DG or CS projects with the help of a developer. Through the dedicated Illinois Shines Public Schools category, the Program aims to increase the educational and financial impacts of solar projects in communities traditionally excluded from the energy sector by setting aside a carveout for Illinois public schools to participate in the Program.
Illinois Solar for All
- Income-eligible households and owners or managers of multi-family homes can participate by installing solar panels directly on their roof or mounting panels on their property.
- Income-eligible renters or homeowners can participate as subscribers in an ILSFA community solar project.
- Qualifying non-profit organizations and public entities can participate by installing on-site solar projects through the Non-Profit and Public Facilities sub-program. Qualifying non-profits or public facilities can participate in Community Solar within ILSFA by serving as anchor tenants, receiving guaranteed savings.
How do the Programs ensure safe and fair business practices?
Illinois Shines
- In Illinois Shines, a seller may not claim that customers are guaranteed to save money, or save a certain amount of money, unless the customer contract includes an explicit and binding savings guarantee mirroring that claim. Customers purchasing, leasing or entering a PPA contract for a distributed generation system sized less than or equal to 25kW have the right to cancel a contract within at least three calendar days (contracts may allow for longer penalty-free cancellation periods).
- Customers may file complaints with the Illinois Shines Program Administrator using the Consumer Complaint Center on the Illinois Shines website or by calling (877) 708-3456.
- Customer complaints received by Illinois Shines are published on the Illinois Shines Consumer Complaints Database.
- To learn more about consumer protection efforts of Illinois Shines, visit the Consumer Protection web page on the Illinois Shines website.
Illinois Solar for All
- With the ILSFA program, income-eligible participants may see no upfront costs and minimum specified savings. Additionally, ILSFA participants have the right to cancel an on-site project contract within 14 calendar days of executing the contract, and community solar subscribers have the right to cancel a subscription agreement within 3 calendar days of initially subscribing, or to cancel a subscription at any time by contacting the community solar provider directly with 30-days notice.
- Customers may file complaints with the ILSFA Program Administrator by emailing complaints@IllinoisSFA.com or by calling 1-888-970-ISFA. Customer complaints received by ILSFA are published on the ILSFA Consumer Complaints Database.
- To learn more about consumer protection efforts dedicated to protecting residents, non-profits, and public facilities that participate in the Program, visit the Consumer Protection web page on the ILSFA website.
Learn more or get started:
Illinois Shines
Illinois Solar for All