Illinois Commerce Commission approves $1.1B Illinois Power Agency plan to procure renewable generation

The Illinois Power Agency’s (IPA) 2024 Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan (LTRRPP) received approval from the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) last week, setting it up to purchase more than $1.1 billion of new renewable generation over the next two years.

While the plan will need to be reviewed every two years, for now, IPA has been cleared to procure Renewable Energy Credits for Ameren Illinois, Commonwealth Edison Company and MidAmerican Energy Company. Investment will focus on utility-scale and community solar, utility-scale wind, hydropower and other clean energy projects within the state’s borders.

“Ironing out the details in Illinois’ clean energy market can make the difference on whether a new clean energy project gets built,” ICC Chairman Doug Scott said. “Expanding the types of solar projects that can participate in state programs and solidifying prevailing wage requirements are the types of considerations that can get new renewable energy online and help Illinois reach its decarbonization goals with equity in mind.”

In all, six procurement blocks were approved under the Illinois Shines Program: small distributed generation (DG), large DG, community solar, public schools, community-driven solar projects and projects from equity eligible contractors (EEC). Equity provisions were mandated to support low-income communities and those hosting disproportionate levels of pollution, along with several reforms to the LTRRPP, like increasing annual size limits for the Illinois Shines program and implementing price adjustment caps to RECs.