Please contact our Customer Care Center if you have questions. You are not guaranteed to save money unless your contract includes an explicit guarantee. Agency: The Illinois Power Agency who developed and manages the Illinois Shines program through its subcontractor, Energy Solutions. All utility companies in Illinois are required to participate, including Ameren and ComEd. What new incentives are there in Illinois following the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act? Register on EnergySage today to get quotes from local, reputable Illinois installers. Lets assume this is your solar panel system and it generates six SRECs a year. ENERGYSAGE is a registered trademark and the EnergySage logo is a trademark of EnergySage, Inc. Other trademarks are the property of either EnergySage, Inc. or our licensors and are used with permission. This technically wont cost you anything since you can take the taxes out of the lump sum payment you get. As of the time of writing, each SREC in IL is worth approximately $72. Small Distributed Generation (Small DG): A distributed generation system less than or equal to 10 kW in size. These Incentives Are Limited! This means most homeowners with a 6 kW array could earn around $360-$750 each year for their SRECs in Illinois. To learn about any incentives you may qualify for, launch our
These payments to your Approved Vendor will help offset the cost of your new PV system or your community solar subscription. 2023 Illinois Shines. solar panel. The initial prices for most of northern Illinois are: Small systems: $72.97 per SREC (applies to systems smaller than 10 kilowatts AC) Large systems: $73.23 per SREC (applies to systems between 10 and 25 kilowatts AC) These prices will decline in "blocks" over time as more-and-more homeowners go solar. See solar prices from qualified, local companies. Like other solar tax credits, with the ITC you can deduct 26% of the cost of your solar energy system from your federal taxes. The Illinois Power Agency (IPA) requires that procurement bids meet a minimum of 1MW of installed How do solar incentives affect the cost of solar panels in Illinois? If you live in Illinois and are considering investing in a solar energy system for your home, heres some great news for you: your state offers myriad solar incentives to help you out. On 9/15/21 the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act was approved which includes new funding for the Illinois Shines SREC program. Solar system owners can create SRECs from the energy produced by their solar panels and arrays. This means the price of SRECs declines as more solar energy systems are installed. Large Distributed Generation Large DG): A distributed generation system larger than 10 kW, up to 2 MW. Across the country, NEM is one of the most beneficial incentives available for solar customers. Solar is hot in Illinois! If your bill is based on fixed prices for energy, your credits will simply be measured in kWh. (1 REC = 1,000 Below, well rank what we believe are the top three most crucial incentives to make sure you take as an Illinois solar customer. In Illinois you as a solar owner contract with an Approved Vendor (through your installer) to sell all the SRECs your system is expected to generate over the first 15 years. Through the program, you earn one credit for every 1,000 kWh (1 megawatt-hour) your system generates, which most IL property owners generate in a single month. That means that every kilowatt-hour (kWh) you generate and send to the grid will offset one kWh you pull from the grid when your panels fail to produce enough energy for your home like at night or on cloudy days. This guarantees clean energy savings. In other words, every time a MWh is produced by a solar array, another SREC comes into existence. Block groups are determined by utility companies and load zones. Participants in the Solar for All program can expect no upfront costs to install solar, no ongoing costs (i.e., free maintenance), and fees that wont exceed 50% of the value of energy generated by the system. FEJA established the incentive structure known as the Adjustable Block Program (ABP), also known as the Illinois Shines program. Renew Your Membership in the Illinois Shines program. In the sections below, well provide responses to some of the most common questions we get asked about solar perks and benefit programs in Illinois. In fact, Illinois has better incentives than most other states. Her work on solar policy has been published in the Canadian National Observer. Copyright 2009-2023 EnergySage, Inc. What are the best rebates and incentives to take when converting to solar in Illinois? Captcha validation failed. Solar Ambassadors Some homeowners can get solar installed for free and then enjoy lower utility payments and the warm fuzzy feeling of helping enhance the green energy grid. The Illinois Shines program is the state's equivalent of the Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) programs and adjustable block programs in other states. If youre a ComEd customer and install solar on your business, youre eligible for $250 per kilowatt (kW) of installed solar power. Best of all, the program takes no time to enroll in, as your installer will set up automatic credit sales for you. For more information, seeenergy.gov. Some electric companies pay out two lump sums one at seven years and one at 15 years. The Final 2022 Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan is available here. Even if you arent quite ready to make your solar purchase, these Illinois solar rebates and incentives are sure to make the case for why solar is a smart decision in the Land of Lincoln. The rate will drop in 2033, but solar customers were given an additional decade to take advantage of the credit. Learn more below. Payments are usually sent out as a lump sum for systems under 25 kW (most residential systems) or over a 5- or 7-year period for bigger systems and commercial projects. See our Community Solar page for more info. The questions below will affect whether you save money. Massachssets:Solar Systems under 25 KWs can collect SRECs for 10 years. The current block rate for systems under 25kW is $75.29, but it won't be for long! On July 1, 2022, Energy Solutions became the new Program Administrator for Illinois Shines. Small projects can work with 3rd party aggregators if they Its worth mentioning that tax software like HR Block and TurboTax know about this incentive and typically ask you when you go to file if you installed renewable energy equipment. For example, if you are a homeowner in Illinois with Comed that purchases residential solar, each 1,000 kWh of electricity you produce from your solar panel would be equivalent to one SREC worth $64.56. One of the best ways to understand costs and incentives is to use a tool to help you calculate your solar potential. What Do Illinoisans Need to Know About the Federal Solar Tax Credit? The best states for a home solar energy system arent always the sunniest; those who benefit the most from installing a solar photovoltaic (PV) system for their home spend a lot of money on electricity and live in a state with good solar programs and incentives. Block eligibility depends on a few factors: There are currently two groups associated with the ABP program Group A and Group B. Carmel, Rural Electric Cooperatives, and Municipal Utilities located in MISO belong in Group A; Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), and Rural Electric Cooperatives and Municipal Utilities located in PJM belong in Group B. IPA: Illinois Power Agency; the State Agency charged with administering the procurement of renewable energy resources to meet Illinois renewable energy portfolio standard, in addition to procuring electric power supply for eligible retail customers of electric utilities and other responsibilities. Illinois Solar Industry Data, RPS Legislation More information on both Distributed Generation (rooftop or ground mounted solar on your property) or Community Solar can be found in the brochures below: Click here to access the Programs Distributed Generation Brochure. RECs are sold by your Approved Vendor to the contacting utility over a 15 year contract. If you are deemed a qualified person as defined by Illinois Administrative Code 83 468.20, then yes! All credits are automatic, provided you have the right electric meter, and a new one will be provided for free even if you dont have a bidirectional meter. Find out what solar costs in your area in 2023, 2023 expert guide to solar panels for homes. The program lasts for 15 years after you install your photovoltaic (PV) equipment. Enrolling in this program is automatic, provided you choose a reputable installer to handle your PV panel installation. The idea is to boost Illinois solar investments by increasing their monetary value in addition to offering savings on electricity bills. The Illinois Shines or ABP Program uses a block structure to determine the value of an SREC. Your payback time is greatly reduced. listed below: Carbon Solutions Group or SRECTrade. represents the carbon or pollution avoided from the grid. That incentive is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in the income tax liability that a person or company claiming the credit would otherwise pay the federal government. Instead, approved vendors facilitate the application process and transaction. The incentive is called a Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC), and its administered by the Illinois Shines Program. Phase I of the portal was launched on January 31, 2023. In most cases, home improvements that make your home more valuable also push your taxes higher since your taxes are based on your overall home value. Be sure to check with your aggregator of choice to confirm their participation. If you own your home array and can take advantage of the states robust SREC market, Illinois is a great place to go solar. It credits all solar customers for solar production, and those energy credits can then be sold for a profit. You can follow the steps below to ensure you get access to this outstanding benefit program. Donate These customers will need to figure out net metering credits with that supplier. Phase I of the portal was launched on January 31, 2023. A s an example, if someone installs an 8kw sized solar system that produces 10,000 kWh of power annually, in Illinois, that customer would receive around $12,000. The SREC program provides a means for Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) to be created for every megawatt-hour of solar electricity created. Keep in mind that the ITC applies only to those who buy their PV system outright (either with a cash purchase or a solar loan), and that you must have enough income for the tax credit to be meaningful (unless youre a tax-exempt entity, in which case you might be eligible for a direct payment). Before joining EcoWatch, Karsten worked in the solar energy sector, studying energy policy, climate tech and environmental education. With the new SREC program, its a bit different the current SREC program lasts for a longer duration, and the price you receive for each SREC is fixed and dependent on your utility company, system size, and how soon you go solar. That system value is calculated using the cost of your panels, batteries and inverters, plus installation costs. Still, we think this is an outstanding solar perk and well worth the time it takes to apply. Renewable Energy Credit (REC) is a tradable, environmental asset that In this guide to solar benefits and incentive programs available in Illinois, youll learn: Our solar experts have sifted through hundreds of local governments and utility companies websites to find accurate information about current solar incentives in each state. However, we dont expect this to appear in the near future. Learn More. Office. IPA Announces Initial Illinois SREC Prices Certasun SRECTrade | SREC Markets | Illinois | IL Is my home or property a good fit for a solar system? Its important to note that while the net energy metering program in IL is currently outstanding, these policies change all the time across the country. Part I approval results in an ICC approved contract with one of the distribution utilities. This program is set to open up January, 30th 2019. What You Need to Know About the Illinois Shines Program, What You Need to Know About the Illinois Solar for All Program, What You Need to Know About the Solar Property Tax Exemption in Illinois. Read ourprivacy policy. owners for the countless benefits to Illinois. Between the 30% federal tax credit and the SREC incentive, up to 50 to 60% of your solar system or more could be paid for from these two incentives alone. As such, you stand to make the most from SRECs in Illinois by going solar now instead of waiting. Part I: The initial application into the program which contains detailed information on the system and its location. Details from past DG procurement events including winning bid prices are listed on the IPA website.