The Illinois Solar for All (ILSFA) program will close the Residential Solar (Large), Community Solar, and Non-Profit and Public Facilities rolling submission windows on Friday, May 22, at 5 p.m. CT.
The ILSFA program will retire the existing waitlist at the end of the program year on May 31, 2026. Any remaining waitlisted projects must be resubmitted upon window openings in the 2026-2027 Program Year.
Following the approval and implementation of the Illinois Power Agency (IPA)’s 2026 Long-Term Plan and the incorporation of new requirements from the Clean and Reliable Grid Act (CRGA), any ILSFA projects approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) after June 1, 2026 must utilize the 2026 ILSFA Renewable Energy Credit (REC) Contracts and would need to be resubmitted in the 2026-2027 Program Year.
Projects that would be eligible for incentives but are not able to cure deficiencies prior to 5 p.m. CT will be eligible for an additional prioritization point if resubmitted and determined eligible in the 2026-2027 Program Year initial submission window and Project Selection is necessary.
ILSFA Program Funding Status
ILSFA has historically been funded through two primary sources – the Renewable Energy Resources fund (RERF) and Utility-allocated Renewable Portfolio Standard funds (Utility-funding). In recent years, ILSFA has seen a substantial uptick in project participation across most sub-programs. As a result of this increase in program participation, the IPA and ILSFA Program Administrator have found that all available funding allocated to the 2025-2026 Program Year has been exhausted or is expected to be following project submission curing that is currently underway.
Any uncontracted funding – either RERF or Utility-funding – that exists, either due to a project failing to cure, project cancellations, or other reason will roll over into the 2026-2027 Program Year and provide additional incentives to the 2026-2027 Program Year. The IPA is continuously reviewing the program budgets to maximize the number of projects supported and will provide additional information in the coming weeks on the state of the budget and available incentives going forward.
Finally, because program funding is fully utilized, updates to the Dashboard for the 2025-2026 Program Year will be suspended until further notice. When budget amounts for the 2025-2026 Program Year are finalized and projects for the 2025-2026 Program Year are approved by the ICC, the Program Administrator will update the Dashboard to transparently communicate the state of the program.
Anticipated Incentives for the 2026-2027 Program Year
ILSFA has seen a substantial increase in project submissions and overall participation, resulting in all, or nearly all, available funding for the current 2025-2026 Program Year being utilized.
Proceeding into the 2026-2027 Program Year, the IPA does not currently expect to be able to provide additional project incentive allocations from the RERF, with all available funding either contracted for or in process to be utilized to support projects and program administration. As a result, the IPA is in the process of evaluating the status of the annual Utility-funding to support both administration of the program (as required) and support projects in the 2026-2027 Program Year.
Having utilized the available RERF funding and with limited expected roll-over Utility-funding, the IPA and Program Administrator recognize there may be a gap between public and market expectations and available funding to support interest. The Project Selection Protocol updates made for the 2026-2027 Program Year, incorporating provided stakeholder feedback, will further ensure that the projects receiving funding through ILSFA most exhibit priorities aligned with program goals.
The IPA and Program Administrator expect to make further adjustments to the Project Selection Protocol and Approved Vendor Manual to best align available program funding, with these updated materials anticipated to be released in the coming weeks. The sub-program calendar will also be released in the coming weeks; however, it will not follow the same cadence as in previous years to better accommodate updates from the 2026 Long-Term Plan, the combining of Residential sub-program funds, and the release of energy sovereignty carveouts.
The IPA and Program Administrator appreciate the continued support from program participants and stakeholders that have helped make ILSFA highly successful.
Approved Vendors and other stakeholders should continue to stay tuned for additional communications surrounding the program calendar, general updates, and incentives that will be released in the coming weeks. If you have any questions in the meantime, please reach out to vendors@illinoissfa.com.