ILSFA Program Updates

2022 Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan Announcement

Illinois Power Agency (IPA) published the 2022 Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan on January 13. The draft Plan and the announcement are available on the ILSFA website.

The IPA will hold virtual public hearings for the plan on Friday, February 18 (links to the hearings are in the 2022 Long-Term Plan’s Cover Letter). The draft 2022 Long-Term Plan reflects new statutory requirements stemming from the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, including several critical changes to ILSFA, such as considering energy sovereignty and a distinct multifamily subprogram. Written comments on the plan are due on Monday, February 28. Stakeholder feedback is greatly encouraged and appreciated.

Become an ILSFA Participant

ILSFA is still accepting residential solar projects for the current program year, and there are community solar projects taking subscriptions in both ComEd and Ameren utility territories. Potential participants can work with the Program Administrator or an Approved Vendor to determine income eligibility.

Approved Vendors have submitted 56 residential solar projects during Program Year 4 (54 one-to-four-unit buildings and two five-plus unit buildings). You can find more information about ILSFA projects in each sub-program on our website.

Job Training

The ILSFA Program helps support workforce development by requiring that job trainees from eligible training programs work on a percentage of approved projects. The required amount of job trainee work hours increases each year for the Approved Vendor’s first three years.

During the 2021-2022 ILSFA Program Year, 23 individual job trainees worked on 60 ILSFA projects, with most hours worked on installing the systems, followed by sales and system design. These job trainees came from seven different FEJA Job Training programs: The Chicago Urban League, Elevate, Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (HACIA), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Illinois Central College, Millennium, and the National Latino Education Institute.

Approved Vendors with  ILSFA prioritize hiring job trainee graduates from FEJA Qualified Job Training Programs. Still, Other Qualifying Programs qualify to work on ILSFA projects if Approved Vendors cannot find graduates from a Qualified Job Training Program. Visit the ILSFA job training page for more information.

Job Postings

We’re hiring! Join the ILSFA team and help make solar more affordable for low-income communities across Illinois. Full job descriptions are on Elevate’s website.

Senior Manager

This position will play a critical role in implementing the ILSFA program by managing a team and coordinating external functional teams to facilitate program delivery, focusing on data analysis, reporting, and Renewable Energy Credit (REC) contract management.

Vendor Manager

We’re looking for a candidate to manage project applications and approvals and support the Approved Vendors who develop and install ILSFA solar projects.

ILSFA Video

Take a moment to learn about an ILSFA project in Champaign. In this short video, Charles Burton, Executive Director of Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club, explains how getting a solar installation through ILSFA has helped the organization better serve the community.