Bill Text: IL SB2012 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Finance Authority Act. Changes the definition of "clean energy". Amends the Illinois Power Agency Act. Changes the definitions of "clean energy", "community renewable generation project", "distributed renewable energy generation device", and "renewable energy resources". Provides that the long-term renewable resources procurement plan shall include the procurement of renewable energy credits from new projects in amounts equal to at least 10,000,000 renewable energy credits delivered annually by the end of the 2021 delivery year, and increasing ratably to reach 45,000,000 renewable energy credits delivered annually from new wind, solar, and other renewable energy resources (rather than just new wind and solar) projects by the end of delivery year 2030 such that the goals are met 75% (rather than entirely) by procurements of renewable energy credits from new wind and photovoltaic projects and 25% by other renewable energy resources such that the State maintains a sufficient, diverse, reliable, and cost effective renewable energy resources mix. Provides that the self-direct credit amount for each renewable energy credit supplied shall be determined annually and is equal to the lower of the volumetric charge collected pursuant to the recovery of costs associated with the provision of delivery and other services to support the renewable portfolio or the average price paid per renewable energy credit divided by 1,000 for all utility-scale renewable energy credits procured by the Illinois Power Agency after June 1, 2017. Removes a provision that provides that the self-direct credit amount does not include costs associated with any contracts entered into before the delivery year in which the customer files the initial compliance report to be eligible for participation in the self-direct program. Amends the Community Energy, Climate, and Jobs Planning Act. Changes the definition of "renewable energy resources". Amends the Public Utilities Act. Changes the definition of "eligible renewable electrical generating facility". Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Changes the definitions of "clean energy" and "large greenhouse gas-emitting unit". Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-03-31 - Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [SB2012 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB2012-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 SB2012 Introduced 2/9/2023, by Sen. Doris Turner SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
See Index
Amends the Illinois Finance Authority Act. Changes the definition of "clean energy". Amends the Illinois Power Agency Act. Changes the definitions of "clean energy", "community renewable generation project", "distributed renewable energy generation device", and "renewable energy resources". Provides that the long-term renewable resources procurement plan shall include the procurement of renewable energy credits from new projects in amounts equal to at least 10,000,000 renewable energy credits delivered annually by the end of the 2021 delivery year, and increasing ratably to reach 45,000,000 renewable energy credits delivered annually from new wind, solar, and other renewable energy resources (rather than just new wind and solar) projects by the end of delivery year 2030 such that the goals are met 75% (rather than entirely) by procurements of renewable energy credits from new wind and photovoltaic projects and 25% by other renewable energy resources such that the State maintains a sufficient, diverse, reliable, and cost effective renewable energy resources mix. Provides that the self-direct credit amount for each renewable energy credit supplied shall be determined annually and is equal to the lower of the volumetric charge collected pursuant to the recovery of costs associated with the provision of delivery and other services to support the renewable portfolio or the average price paid per renewable energy credit divided by 1,000 for all utility-scale renewable energy credits procured by the Illinois Power Agency after June 1, 2017. Removes a provision that provides that the self-direct credit amount does not include costs associated with any contracts entered into before the delivery year in which the customer files the initial compliance report to be eligible for participation in the self-direct program. Amends the Community Energy, Climate, and Jobs Planning Act. Changes the definition of "renewable energy resources". Amends the Public Utilities Act. Changes the definition of "eligible renewable electrical generating facility". Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Changes the definitions of "clean energy" and "large greenhouse gas-emitting unit". Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
SB2012 LRB103 25519 AMQ 51868 b
AN ACT concerning State government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Finance Authority Act is amended
by changing Section 801-10 as follows:
(20 ILCS 3501/801-10)
Sec. 801-10. Definitions. The following terms, whenever
used or referred to in this Act, shall have the following
meanings, except in such instances where the context may
clearly indicate otherwise:
(a) The term "Authority" means the Illinois Finance
Authority created by this Act.
(b) The term "project" means an industrial project, clean
energy project, conservation project, housing project, public
purpose project, higher education project, health facility
project, cultural institution project, municipal bond program
project, PACE Project, agricultural facility or agribusiness,
and "project" may include any combination of one or more of the
foregoing undertaken jointly by any person with one or more
other persons.
(c) The term "public purpose project" means (i) any
project or facility, including without limitation land,
buildings, structures, machinery, equipment and all other real

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and personal property, which is authorized or required by law
to be acquired, constructed, improved, rehabilitated,
reconstructed, replaced or maintained by any unit of
government or any other lawful public purpose, including
provision of working capital, which is authorized or required
by law to be undertaken by any unit of government or (ii) costs
incurred and other expenditures, including expenditures for
management, investment, or working capital costs, incurred in
connection with the reform, consolidation, or implementation
of the transition process as described in Articles 22B and 22C
of the Illinois Pension Code.
(d) The term "industrial project" means the acquisition,
construction, refurbishment, creation, development or
redevelopment of any facility, equipment, machinery, real
property or personal property for use by any instrumentality
of the State or its political subdivisions, for use by any
person or institution, public or private, for profit or not
for profit, or for use in any trade or business, including, but
not limited to, any industrial, manufacturing, clean energy,
or commercial enterprise that is located within or outside the
State, provided that, with respect to a project involving
property located outside the State, the property must be
owned, operated, leased or managed by an entity located within
the State or an entity affiliated with an entity located
within the State, and which is (1) a capital project or clean
energy project, including, but not limited to: (i) land and

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any rights therein, one or more buildings, structures or other
improvements, machinery and equipment, whether now existing or
hereafter acquired, and whether or not located on the same
site or sites; (ii) all appurtenances and facilities
incidental to the foregoing, including, but not limited to,
utilities, access roads, railroad sidings, track, docking and
similar facilities, parking facilities, dockage, wharfage,
railroad roadbed, track, trestle, depot, terminal, switching
and signaling or related equipment, site preparation and
landscaping; and (iii) all non-capital costs and expenses
relating thereto or (2) any addition to, renovation,
rehabilitation or improvement of a capital project or a clean
energy project, or (3) any activity or undertaking within or
outside the State, provided that, with respect to a project
involving property located outside the State, the property
must be owned, operated, leased or managed by an entity
located within the State or an entity affiliated with an
entity located within the State, which the Authority
determines will aid, assist or encourage economic growth,
development or redevelopment within the State or any area
thereof, will promote the expansion, retention or
diversification of employment opportunities within the State
or any area thereof or will aid in stabilizing or developing
any industry or economic sector of the State economy. The term
"industrial project" also means the production of motion
pictures.

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(e) The term "bond" or "bonds" shall include bonds, notes
(including bond, grant or revenue anticipation notes),
certificates and/or other evidences of indebtedness
representing an obligation to pay money, including refunding
bonds.
(f) The terms "lease agreement" and "loan agreement" shall
mean: (i) an agreement whereby a project acquired by the
Authority by purchase, gift or lease is leased to any person,
corporation or unit of local government which will use or
cause the project to be used as a project as heretofore defined
upon terms providing for lease rental payments at least
sufficient to pay when due all principal of, interest and
premium, if any, on any bonds of the Authority issued with
respect to such project, providing for the maintenance,
insuring and operation of the project on terms satisfactory to
the Authority, providing for disposition of the project upon
termination of the lease term, including purchase options or
abandonment of the premises, and such other terms as may be
deemed desirable by the Authority, or (ii) any agreement
pursuant to which the Authority agrees to loan the proceeds of
its bonds issued with respect to a project or other funds of
the Authority to any person which will use or cause the project
to be used as a project as heretofore defined upon terms
providing for loan repayment installments at least sufficient
to pay when due all principal of, interest and premium, if any,
on any bonds of the Authority, if any, issued with respect to

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the project, and providing for maintenance, insurance and
other matters as may be deemed desirable by the Authority.
(g) The term "financial aid" means the expenditure of
Authority funds or funds provided by the Authority through the
issuance of its bonds, notes or other evidences of
indebtedness or from other sources for the development,
construction, acquisition or improvement of a project.
(h) The term "person" means an individual, corporation,
unit of government, business trust, estate, trust, partnership
or association, 2 or more persons having a joint or common
interest, or any other legal entity.
(i) The term "unit of government" means the federal
government, the State or unit of local government, a school
district, or any agency or instrumentality, office, officer,
department, division, bureau, commission, college or
university thereof.
(j) The term "health facility" means: (a) any public or
private institution, place, building, or agency required to be
licensed under the Hospital Licensing Act; (b) any public or
private institution, place, building, or agency required to be
licensed under the Nursing Home Care Act, the Specialized
Mental Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013, the ID/DD Community
Care Act, or the MC/DD Act; (c) any public or licensed private
hospital as defined in the Mental Health and Developmental
Disabilities Code; (d) any such facility exempted from such
licensure when the Director of Public Health attests that such

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exempted facility meets the statutory definition of a facility
subject to licensure; (e) any other public or private health
service institution, place, building, or agency which the
Director of Public Health attests is subject to certification
by the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
under the Social Security Act, as now or hereafter amended, or
which the Director of Public Health attests is subject to
standard-setting by a recognized public or voluntary
accrediting or standard-setting agency; (f) any public or
private institution, place, building or agency engaged in
providing one or more supporting services to a health
facility; (g) any public or private institution, place,
building or agency engaged in providing training in the
healing arts, including, but not limited to, schools of
medicine, dentistry, osteopathy, optometry, podiatry, pharmacy
or nursing, schools for the training of x-ray, laboratory or
other health care technicians and schools for the training of
para-professionals in the health care field; (h) any public or
private congregate, life or extended care or elderly housing
facility or any public or private home for the aged or infirm,
including, without limitation, any Facility as defined in the
Life Care Facilities Act; (i) any public or private mental,
emotional or physical rehabilitation facility or any public or
private educational, counseling, or rehabilitation facility or
home, for those persons with a developmental disability, those
who are physically ill or disabled, the emotionally disturbed,

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those persons with a mental illness or persons with learning
or similar disabilities or problems; (j) any public or private
alcohol, drug or substance abuse diagnosis, counseling
treatment or rehabilitation facility, (k) any public or
private institution, place, building or agency licensed by the
Department of Children and Family Services or which is not so
licensed but which the Director of Children and Family
Services attests provides child care, child welfare or other
services of the type provided by facilities subject to such
licensure; (l) any public or private adoption agency or
facility; and (m) any public or private blood bank or blood
center. "Health facility" also means a public or private
structure or structures suitable primarily for use as a
laboratory, laundry, nurses or interns residence or other
housing or hotel facility used in whole or in part for staff,
employees or students and their families, patients or
relatives of patients admitted for treatment or care in a
health facility, or persons conducting business with a health
facility, physician's facility, surgicenter, administration
building, research facility, maintenance, storage or utility
facility and all structures or facilities related to any of
the foregoing or required or useful for the operation of a
health facility, including parking or other facilities or
other supporting service structures required or useful for the
orderly conduct of such health facility. "Health facility"
also means, with respect to a project located outside the

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State, any public or private institution, place, building, or
agency which provides services similar to those described
above, provided that such project is owned, operated, leased
or managed by a participating health institution located
within the State, or a participating health institution
affiliated with an entity located within the State.
(k) The term "participating health institution" means (i)
a private corporation or association or (ii) a public entity
of this State, in either case authorized by the laws of this
State or the applicable state to provide or operate a health
facility as defined in this Act and which, pursuant to the
provisions of this Act, undertakes the financing, construction
or acquisition of a project or undertakes the refunding or
refinancing of obligations, loans, indebtedness or advances as
provided in this Act.
(l) The term "health facility project", means a specific
health facility work or improvement to be financed or
refinanced (including without limitation through reimbursement
of prior expenditures), acquired, constructed, enlarged,
remodeled, renovated, improved, furnished, or equipped, with
funds provided in whole or in part hereunder, any accounts
receivable, working capital, liability or insurance cost or
operating expense financing or refinancing program of a health
facility with or involving funds provided in whole or in part
hereunder, or any combination thereof.
(m) The term "bond resolution" means the resolution or

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resolutions authorizing the issuance of, or providing terms
and conditions related to, bonds issued under this Act and
includes, where appropriate, any trust agreement, trust
indenture, indenture of mortgage or deed of trust providing
terms and conditions for such bonds.
(n) The term "property" means any real, personal or mixed
property, whether tangible or intangible, or any interest
therein, including, without limitation, any real estate,
leasehold interests, appurtenances, buildings, easements,
equipment, furnishings, furniture, improvements, machinery,
rights of way, structures, accounts, contract rights or any
interest therein.
(o) The term "revenues" means, with respect to any
project, the rents, fees, charges, interest, principal
repayments, collections and other income or profit derived
therefrom.
(p) The term "higher education project" means, in the case
of a private institution of higher education, an educational
facility to be acquired, constructed, enlarged, remodeled,
renovated, improved, furnished, or equipped, or any
combination thereof.
(q) The term "cultural institution project" means, in the
case of a cultural institution, a cultural facility to be
acquired, constructed, enlarged, remodeled, renovated,
improved, furnished, or equipped, or any combination thereof.
(r) The term "educational facility" means any property

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located within the State, or any property located outside the
State, provided that, if the property is located outside the
State, it must be owned, operated, leased or managed by an
entity located within the State or an entity affiliated with
an entity located within the State, in each case constructed
or acquired before or after the effective date of this Act,
which is or will be, in whole or in part, suitable for the
instruction, feeding, recreation or housing of students, the
conducting of research or other work of a private institution
of higher education, the use by a private institution of
higher education in connection with any educational, research
or related or incidental activities then being or to be
conducted by it, or any combination of the foregoing,
including, without limitation, any such property suitable for
use as or in connection with any one or more of the following:
an academic facility, administrative facility, agricultural
facility, assembly hall, athletic facility, auditorium,
boating facility, campus, communication facility, computer
facility, continuing education facility, classroom, dining
hall, dormitory, exhibition hall, fire fighting facility, fire
prevention facility, food service and preparation facility,
gymnasium, greenhouse, health care facility, hospital,
housing, instructional facility, laboratory, library,
maintenance facility, medical facility, museum, offices,
parking area, physical education facility, recreational
facility, research facility, stadium, storage facility,

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student union, study facility, theatre or utility.
(s) The term "cultural facility" means any property
located within the State, or any property located outside the
State, provided that, if the property is located outside the
State, it must be owned, operated, leased or managed by an
entity located within the State or an entity affiliated with
an entity located within the State, in each case constructed
or acquired before or after the effective date of this Act,
which is or will be, in whole or in part, suitable for the
particular purposes or needs of a cultural institution,
including, without limitation, any such property suitable for
use as or in connection with any one or more of the following:
an administrative facility, aquarium, assembly hall,
auditorium, botanical garden, exhibition hall, gallery,
greenhouse, library, museum, scientific laboratory, theater or
zoological facility, and shall also include, without
limitation, books, works of art or music, animal, plant or
aquatic life or other items for display, exhibition or
performance. The term "cultural facility" includes buildings
on the National Register of Historic Places which are owned or
operated by nonprofit entities.
(t) "Private institution of higher education" means a
not-for-profit educational institution which is not owned by
the State or any political subdivision, agency,
instrumentality, district or municipality thereof, which is
authorized by law to provide a program of education beyond the

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high school level and which:
(1) Admits as regular students only individuals having
a certificate of graduation from a high school, or the
recognized equivalent of such a certificate;
(2) Provides an educational program for which it
awards a bachelor's degree, or provides an educational
program, admission into which is conditioned upon the
prior attainment of a bachelor's degree or its equivalent,
for which it awards a postgraduate degree, or provides not
less than a 2-year program which is acceptable for full
credit toward such a degree, or offers a 2-year program in
engineering, mathematics, or the physical or biological
sciences which is designed to prepare the student to work
as a technician and at a semiprofessional level in
engineering, scientific, or other technological fields
which require the understanding and application of basic
engineering, scientific, or mathematical principles or
knowledge;
(3) Is accredited by a nationally recognized
accrediting agency or association or, if not so
accredited, is an institution whose credits are accepted,
on transfer, by not less than 3 institutions which are so
accredited, for credit on the same basis as if transferred
from an institution so accredited, and holds an unrevoked
certificate of approval under the Private College Act from
the Board of Higher Education, or is qualified as a

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"degree granting institution" under the Academic Degree
Act; and
(4) Does not discriminate in the admission of students
on the basis of race or color. "Private institution of
higher education" also includes any "academic
institution".
(u) The term "academic institution" means any
not-for-profit institution which is not owned by the State or
any political subdivision, agency, instrumentality, district
or municipality thereof, which institution engages in, or
facilitates academic, scientific, educational or professional
research or learning in a field or fields of study taught at a
private institution of higher education. Academic institutions
include, without limitation, libraries, archives, academic,
scientific, educational or professional societies,
institutions, associations or foundations having such
purposes.
(v) The term "cultural institution" means any
not-for-profit institution which is not owned by the State or
any political subdivision, agency, instrumentality, district
or municipality thereof, which institution engages in the
cultural, intellectual, scientific, educational or artistic
enrichment of the people of the State. Cultural institutions
include, without limitation, aquaria, botanical societies,
historical societies, libraries, museums, performing arts
associations or societies, scientific societies and zoological

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societies.
(w) The term "affiliate" means, with respect to financing
of an agricultural facility or an agribusiness, any lender,
any person, firm or corporation controlled by, or under common
control with, such lender, and any person, firm or corporation
controlling such lender.
(x) The term "agricultural facility" means land, any
building or other improvement thereon or thereto, and any
personal properties deemed necessary or suitable for use,
whether or not now in existence, in farming, ranching, the
production of agricultural commodities (including, without
limitation, the products of aquaculture, hydroponics and
silviculture) or the treating, processing or storing of such
agricultural commodities when such activities are customarily
engaged in by farmers as a part of farming and which land,
building, improvement or personal property is located within
the State, or is located outside the State, provided that, if
such property is located outside the State, it must be owned,
operated, leased, or managed by an entity located within the
State or an entity affiliated with an entity located within
the State.
(y) The term "lender" with respect to financing of an
agricultural facility or an agribusiness, means any federal or
State chartered bank, Federal Land Bank, Production Credit
Association, Bank for Cooperatives, federal or State chartered
savings and loan association or building and loan association,

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Small Business Investment Company or any other institution
qualified within this State to originate and service loans,
including, but without limitation to, insurance companies,
credit unions and mortgage loan companies. "Lender" also means
a wholly owned subsidiary of a manufacturer, seller or
distributor of goods or services that makes loans to
businesses or individuals, commonly known as a "captive
finance company".
(z) The term "agribusiness" means any sole proprietorship,
limited partnership, co-partnership, joint venture,
corporation or cooperative which operates or will operate a
facility located within the State or outside the State,
provided that, if any facility is located outside the State,
it must be owned, operated, leased, or managed by an entity
located within the State or an entity affiliated with an
entity located within the State, that is related to the
processing of agricultural commodities (including, without
limitation, the products of aquaculture, hydroponics and
silviculture) or the manufacturing, production or construction
of agricultural buildings, structures, equipment, implements,
and supplies, or any other facilities or processes used in
agricultural production. Agribusiness includes but is not
limited to the following:
(1) grain handling and processing, including grain
storage, drying, treatment, conditioning, mailing and
packaging;

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(2) seed and feed grain development and processing;
(3) fruit and vegetable processing, including
preparation, canning and packaging;
(4) processing of livestock and livestock products,
dairy products, poultry and poultry products, fish or
apiarian products, including slaughter, shearing,
collecting, preparation, canning and packaging;
(5) fertilizer and agricultural chemical
manufacturing, processing, application and supplying;
(6) farm machinery, equipment and implement
manufacturing and supplying;
(7) manufacturing and supplying of agricultural
commodity processing machinery and equipment, including
machinery and equipment used in slaughter, treatment,
handling, collecting, preparation, canning or packaging of
agricultural commodities;
(8) farm building and farm structure manufacturing,
construction and supplying;
(9) construction, manufacturing, implementation,
supplying or servicing of irrigation, drainage and soil
and water conservation devices or equipment;
(10) fuel processing and development facilities that
produce fuel from agricultural commodities or byproducts;
(11) facilities and equipment for processing and
packaging agricultural commodities specifically for
export;

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(12) facilities and equipment for forestry product
processing and supplying, including sawmilling operations,
wood chip operations, timber harvesting operations, and
manufacturing of prefabricated buildings, paper, furniture
or other goods from forestry products;
(13) facilities and equipment for research and
development of products, processes and equipment for the
production, processing, preparation or packaging of
agricultural commodities and byproducts.
(aa) The term "asset" with respect to financing of any
agricultural facility or any agribusiness, means, but is not
limited to the following: cash crops or feed on hand;
livestock held for sale; breeding stock; marketable bonds and
securities; securities not readily marketable; accounts
receivable; notes receivable; cash invested in growing crops;
net cash value of life insurance; machinery and equipment;
cars and trucks; farm and other real estate including life
estates and personal residence; value of beneficial interests
in trusts; government payments or grants; and any other
assets.
(bb) The term "liability" with respect to financing of any
agricultural facility or any agribusiness shall include, but
not be limited to the following: accounts payable; notes or
other indebtedness owed to any source; taxes; rent; amounts
owed on real estate contracts or real estate mortgages;
judgments; accrued interest payable; and any other liability.

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(cc) The term "Predecessor Authorities" means those
authorities as described in Section 845-75.
(dd) The term "housing project" means a specific work or
improvement located within the State or outside the State and
undertaken to provide residential dwelling accommodations,
including the acquisition, construction or rehabilitation of
lands, buildings and community facilities and in connection
therewith to provide nonhousing facilities which are part of
the housing project, including land, buildings, improvements,
equipment and all ancillary facilities for use for offices,
stores, retirement homes, hotels, financial institutions,
service, health care, education, recreation or research
establishments, or any other commercial purpose which are or
are to be related to a housing development, provided that any
work or improvement located outside the State is owned,
operated, leased or managed by an entity located within the
State, or any entity affiliated with an entity located within
the State.
(ee) The term "conservation project" means any project
including the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation,
maintenance, operation, or upgrade that is intended to create
or expand open space or to reduce energy usage through
efficiency measures. For the purpose of this definition, "open
space" has the definition set forth under Section 10 of the
Illinois Open Land Trust Act.
(ff) The term "significant presence" means the existence

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within the State of the national or regional headquarters of
an entity or group or such other facility of an entity or group
of entities where a significant amount of the business
functions are performed for such entity or group of entities.
(gg) The term "municipal bond issuer" means the State or
any other state or commonwealth of the United States, or any
unit of local government, school district, agency or
instrumentality, office, department, division, bureau,
commission, college or university thereof located in the State
or any other state or commonwealth of the United States.
(hh) The term "municipal bond program project" means a
program for the funding of the purchase of bonds, notes or
other obligations issued by or on behalf of a municipal bond
issuer.
(ii) The term "participating lender" means any trust
company, bank, savings bank, credit union, merchant bank,
investment bank, broker, investment trust, pension fund,
building and loan association, savings and loan association,
insurance company, venture capital company, or other
institution approved by the Authority which provides a portion
of the financing for a project.
(jj) The term "loan participation" means any loan in which
the Authority co-operates with a participating lender to
provide all or a portion of the financing for a project.
(kk) The term "PACE Project" means an energy project as
defined in Section 5 of the Property Assessed Clean Energy

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Act.
(ll) The term "clean energy" means energy generation that
is substantially free (90% or more) of carbon dioxide
emissions by design or operations, or that otherwise
contributes to the reduction in emissions of environmentally
hazardous materials or reduces the volume of environmentally
dangerous materials, or that is generated by renewable energy
resources as defined in the Illinois Power Agency Act.
(mm) The term "clean energy project" means the
acquisition, construction, refurbishment, creation,
development or redevelopment of any facility, equipment,
machinery, real property, or personal property for use by the
State or any unit of local government, school district, agency
or instrumentality, office, department, division, bureau,
commission, college, or university of the State, for use by
any person or institution, public or private, for profit or
not for profit, or for use in any trade or business, which the
Authority determines will aid, assist, or encourage the
development or implementation of clean energy in the State, or
as otherwise contemplated by Article 850.
(nn) The term "Climate Bank" means the Authority in the
exercise of those powers conferred on it by this Act related to
clean energy or clean water, drinking water, or wastewater
treatment.
(oo) "Equity investment eligible community" and "eligible
community" mean the geographic areas throughout Illinois that

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would most benefit from equitable investments by the State
designed to combat discrimination. Specifically, the eligible
communities shall be defined as the following areas:
(1) R3 Areas as established pursuant to Section 10-40
of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, where residents
have historically been excluded from economic
opportunities, including opportunities in the energy
sector; and
(2) Environmental justice communities, as defined by
the Illinois Power Agency pursuant to the Illinois Power
Agency Act, where residents have historically been subject
to disproportionate burdens of pollution, including
pollution from the energy sector.
(pp) "Equity investment eligible person" and "eligible
person" mean the persons who would most benefit from equitable
investments by the State designed to combat discrimination.
Specifically, eligible persons means the following people:
(1) persons whose primary residence is in an equity
investment eligible community;
(2) persons who are graduates of or currently enrolled
in the foster care system; or
(3) persons who were formerly incarcerated.
(qq) "Environmental justice community" means the
definition of that term based on existing methodologies and
findings used and as may be updated by the Illinois Power
Agency and its program administrator in the Illinois Solar for

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All Program.
(Source: P.A. 101-610, eff. 1-1-20; 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)
Section 10. The Illinois Power Agency Act is amended by
changing Sections 1-10 and 1-75 as follows:
(20 ILCS 3855/1-10)
Sec. 1-10. Definitions.
"Agency" means the Illinois Power Agency.
"Agency loan agreement" means any agreement pursuant to
which the Illinois Finance Authority agrees to loan the
proceeds of revenue bonds issued with respect to a project to
the Agency upon terms providing for loan repayment
installments at least sufficient to pay when due all principal
of, interest and premium, if any, on those revenue bonds, and
providing for maintenance, insurance, and other matters in
respect of the project.
"Authority" means the Illinois Finance Authority.
"Brownfield site photovoltaic project" means photovoltaics
that are either:
(1) interconnected to an electric utility as defined
in this Section, a municipal utility as defined in this
Section, a public utility as defined in Section 3-105 of
the Public Utilities Act, or an electric cooperative as
defined in Section 3-119 of the Public Utilities Act and
located at a site that is regulated by any of the following

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entities under the following programs:
(A) the United States Environmental Protection
Agency under the federal Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as
amended;
(B) the United States Environmental Protection
Agency under the Corrective Action Program of the
federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as
amended;
(C) the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
under the Illinois Site Remediation Program; or
(D) the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
under the Illinois Solid Waste Program; or
(2) located at the site of a coal mine that has
permanently ceased coal production, permanently halted any
re-mining operations, and is no longer accepting any coal
combustion residues; has both completed all clean-up and
remediation obligations under the federal Surface Mining
and Reclamation Act of 1977 and all applicable Illinois
rules and any other clean-up, remediation, or ongoing
monitoring to safeguard the health and well-being of the
people of the State of Illinois, as well as demonstrated
compliance with all applicable federal and State
environmental rules and regulations, including, but not
limited, to 35 Ill. Adm. Code Part 845 and any rules for
historic fill of coal combustion residuals, including any

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rules finalized in Subdocket A of Illinois Pollution
Control Board docket R2020-019.
"Clean coal facility" means an electric generating
facility that uses primarily coal as a feedstock and that
captures and sequesters carbon dioxide emissions at the
following levels: at least 50% of the total carbon dioxide
emissions that the facility would otherwise emit if, at the
time construction commences, the facility is scheduled to
commence operation before 2016, at least 70% of the total
carbon dioxide emissions that the facility would otherwise
emit if, at the time construction commences, the facility is
scheduled to commence operation during 2016 or 2017, and at
least 90% of the total carbon dioxide emissions that the
facility would otherwise emit if, at the time construction
commences, the facility is scheduled to commence operation
after 2017. The power block of the clean coal facility shall
not exceed allowable emission rates for sulfur dioxide,
nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulates and mercury for
a natural gas-fired combined-cycle facility the same size as
and in the same location as the clean coal facility at the time
the clean coal facility obtains an approved air permit. All
coal used by a clean coal facility shall have high volatile
bituminous rank and greater than 1.7 pounds of sulfur per
million Btu btu content, unless the clean coal facility does
not use gasification technology and was operating as a
conventional coal-fired electric generating facility on June

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1, 2009 (the effective date of Public Act 95-1027).
"Clean coal SNG brownfield facility" means a facility that
(1) has commenced construction by July 1, 2015 on an urban
brownfield site in a municipality with at least 1,000,000
residents; (2) uses a gasification process to produce
substitute natural gas; (3) uses coal as at least 50% of the
total feedstock over the term of any sourcing agreement with a
utility and the remainder of the feedstock may be either
petroleum coke or coal, with all such coal having a high
bituminous rank and greater than 1.7 pounds of sulfur per
million Btu content unless the facility reasonably determines
that it is necessary to use additional petroleum coke to
deliver additional consumer savings, in which case the
facility shall use coal for at least 35% of the total feedstock
over the term of any sourcing agreement; and (4) captures and
sequesters at least 85% of the total carbon dioxide emissions
that the facility would otherwise emit.
"Clean coal SNG facility" means a facility that uses a
gasification process to produce substitute natural gas, that
sequesters at least 90% of the total carbon dioxide emissions
that the facility would otherwise emit, that uses at least 90%
coal as a feedstock, with all such coal having a high
bituminous rank and greater than 1.7 pounds of sulfur per
million Btu btu content, and that has a valid and effective
permit to construct emission sources and air pollution control
equipment and approval with respect to the federal regulations

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for Prevention of Significant Deterioration of Air Quality
(PSD) for the plant pursuant to the federal Clean Air Act;
provided, however, a clean coal SNG brownfield facility shall
not be a clean coal SNG facility.
"Clean energy" means energy generation that is 90% or
greater free of carbon dioxide emissions or is generated by a
renewable energy resource.
"Commission" means the Illinois Commerce Commission.
"Community renewable generation project" means an electric
generating facility that:
(1) is powered by a renewable energy resource wind,
solar thermal energy, photovoltaic cells or panels,
biodiesel, crops and untreated and unadulterated organic
waste biomass, and hydropower that does not involve new
construction or significant expansion of hydropower dams;
(2) is interconnected at the distribution system level
of an electric utility as defined in this Section, a
municipal utility as defined in this Section that owns or
operates electric distribution facilities, a public
utility as defined in Section 3-105 of the Public
Utilities Act, or an electric cooperative, as defined in
Section 3-119 of the Public Utilities Act;
(3) credits the value of electricity generated by the
facility to the subscribers of the facility; and
(4) is limited in nameplate capacity to less than or
equal to 5,000 kilowatts.

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"Costs incurred in connection with the development and
construction of a facility" means:
(1) the cost of acquisition of all real property,
fixtures, and improvements in connection therewith and
equipment, personal property, and other property, rights,
and easements acquired that are deemed necessary for the
operation and maintenance of the facility;
(2) financing costs with respect to bonds, notes, and
other evidences of indebtedness of the Agency;
(3) all origination, commitment, utilization,
facility, placement, underwriting, syndication, credit
enhancement, and rating agency fees;
(4) engineering, design, procurement, consulting,
legal, accounting, title insurance, survey, appraisal,
escrow, trustee, collateral agency, interest rate hedging,
interest rate swap, capitalized interest, contingency, as
required by lenders, and other financing costs, and other
expenses for professional services; and
(5) the costs of plans, specifications, site study and
investigation, installation, surveys, other Agency costs
and estimates of costs, and other expenses necessary or
incidental to determining the feasibility of any project,
together with such other expenses as may be necessary or
incidental to the financing, insuring, acquisition, and
construction of a specific project and starting up,
commissioning, and placing that project in operation.

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"Delivery services" has the same definition as found in
Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Delivery year" means the consecutive 12-month period
beginning June 1 of a given year and ending May 31 of the
following year.
"Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity.
"Director" means the Director of the Illinois Power
Agency.
"Demand-response" means measures that decrease peak
electricity demand or shift demand from peak to off-peak
periods.
"Distributed renewable energy generation device" means a
device that is:
(1) powered by a renewable energy resource wind, solar
thermal energy, photovoltaic cells or panels, biodiesel,
crops and untreated and unadulterated organic waste
biomass, tree waste, and hydropower that does not involve
new construction or significant expansion of hydropower
dams, waste heat to power systems, or qualified combined
heat and power systems;
(2) interconnected at the distribution system level of
either an electric utility as defined in this Section, a
municipal utility as defined in this Section that owns or
operates electric distribution facilities, or a rural
electric cooperative as defined in Section 3-119 of the

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Public Utilities Act;
(3) located on the customer side of the customer's
electric meter and is primarily used to offset that
customer's electricity load; and
(4) (blank).
"Energy efficiency" means measures that reduce the amount
of electricity or natural gas consumed in order to achieve a
given end use. "Energy efficiency" includes voltage
optimization measures that optimize the voltage at points on
the electric distribution voltage system and thereby reduce
electricity consumption by electric customers' end use
devices. "Energy efficiency" also includes measures that
reduce the total Btus of electricity, natural gas, and other
fuels needed to meet the end use or uses.
"Electric utility" has the same definition as found in
Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Equity investment eligible community" or "eligible
community" are synonymous and mean the geographic areas
throughout Illinois which would most benefit from equitable
investments by the State designed to combat discrimination.
Specifically, the eligible communities shall be defined as the
following areas:
(1) R3 Areas as established pursuant to Section 10-40
of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, where residents
have historically been excluded from economic
opportunities, including opportunities in the energy

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sector; and
(2) environmental Environmental justice communities,
as defined by the Illinois Power Agency pursuant to the
Illinois Power Agency Act, where residents have
historically been subject to disproportionate burdens of
pollution, including pollution from the energy sector.
"Equity eligible persons" or "eligible persons" means
persons who would most benefit from equitable investments by
the State designed to combat discrimination, specifically:
(1) persons who graduate from or are current or former
participants in the Clean Jobs Workforce Network Program,
the Clean Energy Contractor Incubator Program, the
Illinois Climate Works Preapprenticeship Program,
Returning Residents Clean Jobs Training Program, or the
Clean Energy Primes Contractor Accelerator Program, and
the solar training pipeline and multi-cultural jobs
program created in paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(3) of Section
16-208.12 16-108.21 of the Public Utilities Act;
(2) persons who are graduates of or currently enrolled
in the foster care system;
(3) persons who were formerly incarcerated;
(4) persons whose primary residence is in an equity
investment eligible community.
"Equity eligible contractor" means a business that is
majority-owned by eligible persons, or a nonprofit or
cooperative that is majority-governed by eligible persons, or

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is a natural person that is an eligible person offering
personal services as an independent contractor.
"Facility" means an electric generating unit or a
co-generating unit that produces electricity along with
related equipment necessary to connect the facility to an
electric transmission or distribution system.
"General contractor Contractor" means the entity or
organization with main responsibility for the building of a
construction project and who is the party signing the prime
construction contract for the project.
"Governmental aggregator" means one or more units of local
government that individually or collectively procure
electricity to serve residential retail electrical loads
located within its or their jurisdiction.
"High voltage direct current converter station" means the
collection of equipment that converts direct current energy
from a high voltage direct current transmission line into
alternating current using Voltage Source Conversion technology
and that is interconnected with transmission or distribution
assets located in Illinois.
"High voltage direct current renewable energy credit"
means a renewable energy credit associated with a renewable
energy resource where the renewable energy resource has
entered into a contract to transmit the energy associated with
such renewable energy credit over high voltage direct current
transmission facilities.

SB2012 - 32 - LRB103 25519 AMQ 51868 b
"High voltage direct current transmission facilities"
means the collection of installed equipment that converts
alternating current energy in one location to direct current
and transmits that direct current energy to a high voltage
direct current converter station using Voltage Source
Conversion technology. "High voltage direct current
transmission facilities" includes the high voltage direct
current converter station itself and associated high voltage
direct current transmission lines. Notwithstanding the
preceding, after September 15, 2021 (the effective date of
Public Act 102-662) this amendatory Act of the 102nd General
Assembly, an otherwise qualifying collection of equipment does
not qualify as high voltage direct current transmission
facilities unless its developer entered into a project labor
agreement, is capable of transmitting electricity at 525kv
with an Illinois converter station located and interconnected
in the region of the PJM Interconnection, LLC, and the system
does not operate as a public utility, as that term is defined
in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Index price" means the real-time energy settlement price
at the applicable Illinois trading hub, such as PJM-NIHUB or
MISO-IL, for a given settlement period.
"Indexed renewable energy credit" means a tradable credit
that represents the environmental attributes of one megawatt
hour of energy produced from a renewable energy resource, the
price of which shall be calculated by subtracting the strike

SB2012 - 33 - LRB103 25519 AMQ 51868 b
price offered by a new utility-scale wind project or a new
utility-scale photovoltaic project from the index price in a
given settlement period.
"Indexed renewable energy credit counterparty" has the
same meaning as "public utility" as defined in Section 3-105
of the Public Utilities Act.
"Local government" means a unit of local government as
defined in Section 1 of Article VII of the Illinois
Constitution.
"Municipality" means a city, village, or incorporated
town.
"Municipal utility" means a public utility owned and
operated by any subdivision or municipal corporation of this
State.
"Nameplate capacity" means the aggregate inverter
nameplate capacity in kilowatts AC.
"Person" means any natural person, firm, partnership,
corporation, either domestic or foreign, company, association,
limited liability company, joint stock company, or association
and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, or personal
representative thereof.
"Project" means the planning, bidding, and construction of
a facility.
"Project labor agreement" means a pre-hire collective
bargaining agreement that covers all terms and conditions of
employment on a specific construction project and must include

SB2012 - 34 - LRB103 25519 AMQ 51868 b
the following:
(1) provisions establishing the minimum hourly wage
for each class of labor organization employee;
(2) provisions establishing the benefits and other
compensation for each class of labor organization
employee;
(3) provisions establishing that no strike or disputes
will be engaged in by the labor organization employees;
(4) provisions establishing that no lockout or
disputes will be engaged in by the general contractor
building the project; and
(5) provisions for minorities and women, as defined
under the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and
Persons with Disabilities Act, setting forth goals for
apprenticeship hours to be performed by minorities and
women and setting forth goals for total hours to be
performed by underrepresented minorities and women.
A labor organization and the general contractor building
the project shall have the authority to include other terms
and conditions as they deem necessary.
"Public utility" has the same definition as found in
Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Qualified combined heat and power systems" means systems
that, either simultaneously or sequentially, produce
electricity and useful thermal energy from a single fuel
source. Such systems are eligible for "renewable energy

SB2012 - 35 - LRB103 25519 AMQ 51868 b
credits" in an amount equal to its total energy output where a
renewable fuel is consumed or in an amount equal to the net
reduction in nonrenewable fuel consumed on a total energy
output basis.
"Real property" means any interest in land together with
all structures, fixtures, and improvements thereon, including
lands under water and riparian rights, any easements,
covenants, licenses, leases, rights-of-way, uses, and other
interests, together with any liens, judgments, mortgages, or
other claims or security interests related to real property.
"Renewable energy credit" means a tradable credit that
represents the environmental attributes of one megawatt hour
of energy produced from a renewable energy resource.
"Renewable energy resources" includes energy and its
associated renewable energy credit or renewable energy credits
from wind, solar thermal energy, photovoltaic cells and
panels, biofuels, hydrogen, other carbon neutral fuels,
biodiesel, anaerobic digestion, crops and untreated and
unadulterated organic waste biomass, and hydropower that does
not involve new construction or significant expansion of
hydropower dams, waste heat to power systems, or qualified
combined heat and power systems. For purposes of this Act,
landfill gas produced in the State is considered a renewable
energy resource. "Renewable energy resources" does not include
the incineration or burning of tires, garbage, general
household, institutional, and commercial waste, industrial

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lunchroom or office waste, landscape waste, railroad
crossties, utility poles, or construction or demolition
debris, other than untreated and unadulterated waste wood.
"Renewable energy resources" also includes high voltage direct
current renewable energy credits and the associated energy
converted to alternating current by a high voltage direct
current converter station to the extent that: (1) the
generator of such renewable energy resource contracted with a
third party to transmit the energy over the high voltage
direct current transmission facilities, and (2) the
third-party contracting for delivery of renewable energy
resources over the high voltage direct current transmission
facilities have ownership rights over the unretired associated
high voltage direct current renewable energy credit.
"Retail customer" has the same definition as found in
Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Revenue bond" means any bond, note, or other evidence of
indebtedness issued by the Authority, the principal and
interest of which is payable solely from revenues or income
derived from any project or activity of the Agency.
"Sequester" means permanent storage of carbon dioxide by
injecting it into a saline aquifer, a depleted gas reservoir,
or an oil reservoir, directly or through an enhanced oil
recovery process that may involve intermediate storage,
regardless of whether these activities are conducted by a
clean coal facility, a clean coal SNG facility, a clean coal

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SNG brownfield facility, or a party with which a clean coal
facility, clean coal SNG facility, or clean coal SNG
brownfield facility has contracted for such purposes.
"Service area" has the same definition as found in Section
16-102 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Settlement period" means the period of time utilized by
MISO and PJM and their successor organizations as the basis
for settlement calculations in the real-time energy market.
"Sourcing agreement" means (i) in the case of an electric
utility, an agreement between the owner of a clean coal
facility and such electric utility, which agreement shall have
terms and conditions meeting the requirements of paragraph (3)
of subsection (d) of Section 1-75, (ii) in the case of an
alternative retail electric supplier, an agreement between the
owner of a clean coal facility and such alternative retail
electric supplier, which agreement shall have terms and
conditions meeting the requirements of Section 16-115(d)(5) of
the Public Utilities Act, and (iii) in case of a gas utility,
an agreement between the owner of a clean coal SNG brownfield
facility and the gas utility, which agreement shall have the
terms and conditions meeting the requirements of subsection
(h-1) of Section 9-220 of the Public Utilities Act.
"Strike price" means a contract price for energy and
renewable energy credits from a new utility-scale wind project
or a new utility-scale photovoltaic project.
"Subscriber" means a person who (i) takes delivery service

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from an electric utility, and (ii) has a subscription of no
less than 200 watts to a community renewable generation
project that is located in the electric utility's service
area. No subscriber's subscriptions may total more than 40% of
the nameplate capacity of an individual community renewable
generation project. Entities that are affiliated by virtue of
a common parent shall not represent multiple subscriptions
that total more than 40% of the nameplate capacity of an
individual community renewable generation project.
"Subscription" means an interest in a community renewable
generation project expressed in kilowatts, which is sized
primarily to offset part or all of the subscriber's
electricity usage.
"Substitute natural gas" or "SNG" means a gas manufactured
by gasification of hydrocarbon feedstock, which is
substantially interchangeable in use and distribution with
conventional natural gas.
"Total resource cost test" or "TRC test" means a standard
that is met if, for an investment in energy efficiency or
demand-response measures, the benefit-cost ratio is greater
than one. The benefit-cost ratio is the ratio of the net
present value of the total benefits of the program to the net
present value of the total costs as calculated over the
lifetime of the measures. A total resource cost test compares
the sum of avoided electric utility costs, representing the
benefits that accrue to the system and the participant in the

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delivery of those efficiency measures and including avoided
costs associated with reduced use of natural gas or other
fuels, avoided costs associated with reduced water
consumption, and avoided costs associated with reduced
operation and maintenance costs, as well as other quantifiable
societal benefits, to the sum of all incremental costs of
end-use measures that are implemented due to the program
(including both utility and participant contributions), plus
costs to administer, deliver, and evaluate each demand-side
program, to quantify the net savings obtained by substituting
the demand-side program for supply resources. In calculating
avoided costs of power and energy that an electric utility
would otherwise have had to acquire, reasonable estimates
shall be included of financial costs likely to be imposed by
future regulations and legislation on emissions of greenhouse
gases. In discounting future societal costs and benefits for
the purpose of calculating net present values, a societal
discount rate based on actual, long-term Treasury bond yields
should be used. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, the
TRC test shall not include or take into account a calculation
of market price suppression effects or demand reduction
induced price effects.
"Utility-scale solar project" means an electric generating
facility that:
(1) generates electricity using photovoltaic cells;
and

SB2012 - 40 - LRB103 25519 AMQ 51868 b
(2) has a nameplate capacity that is greater than
5,000 kilowatts.
"Utility-scale wind project" means an electric generating
facility that:
(1) generates electricity using wind; and
(2) has a nameplate capacity that is greater than
5,000 kilowatts.
"Waste Heat to Power Systems" means systems that capture
and generate electricity from energy that would otherwise be
lost to the atmosphere without the use of additional fuel.
"Zero emission credit" means a tradable credit that
represents the environmental attributes of one megawatt hour
of energy produced from a zero emission facility.
"Zero emission facility" means a facility that: (1) is
fueled by nuclear power; and (2) is interconnected with PJM
Interconnection, LLC or the Midcontinent Independent System
Operator, Inc., or their successors.
(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21; revised 6-2-22.)
(20 ILCS 3855/1-75)
Sec. 1-75. Planning and Procurement Bureau. The Planning
and Procurement Bureau has the following duties and
responsibilities:
(a) The Planning and Procurement Bureau shall each year,
beginning in 2008, develop procurement plans and conduct
competitive procurement processes in accordance with the

SB2012 - 41 - LRB103 25519 AMQ 51868 b
requirements of Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act
for the eligible retail customers of electric utilities that
on December 31, 2005 provided electric service to at least
100,000 customers in Illinois. Beginning with the delivery
year commencing on June 1, 2017, the Planning and Procurement
Bureau shall develop plans and processes for the procurement
of zero emission credits from zero emission facilities in
accordance with the requirements of subsection (d-5) of this
Section. Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory
Act of the 102nd General Assembly, the Planning and
Procurement Bureau shall develop plans and processes for the
procurement of carbon mitigation credits from carbon-free
energy resources in accordance with the requirements of
subsection (d-10) of this Section. The Planning and
Procurement Bureau shall also develop procurement plans and
conduct competitive procurement processes in accordance with
the requirements of Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities
Act for the eligible retail customers of small
multi-jurisdictional electric utilities that (i) on December
31, 2005 served less than 100,000 customers in Illinois and
(ii) request a procurement plan for their Illinois
jurisdictional load. This Section shall not apply to a small
multi-jurisdictional utility until such time as a small
multi-jurisdictional utility requests the Agency to prepare a
procurement plan for their Illinois jurisdictional load. For
the purposes of this Section, the term "eligible retail

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customers" has the same definition as found in Section
16-111.5(a) of the Public Utilities Act.
Beginning with the plan or plans to be implemented in the
2017 delivery year, the Agency shall no longer include the
procurement of renewable energy resources in the annual
procurement plans required by this subsection (a), except as
provided in subsection (q) of Section 16-111.5 of the Public
Utilities Act, and shall instead develop a long-term renewable
resources procurement plan in accordance with subsection (c)
of this Section and Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities
Act.
In accordance with subsection (c-5) of this Section, the
Planning and Procurement Bureau shall oversee the procurement
by electric utilities that served more than 300,000 retail
customers in this State as of January 1, 2019 of renewable
energy credits from new utility-scale solar projects to be
installed, along with energy storage facilities, at or
adjacent to the sites of electric generating facilities that,
as of January 1, 2016, burned coal as their primary fuel
source.
(1) The Agency shall each year, beginning in 2008, as
needed, issue a request for qualifications for experts or
expert consulting firms to develop the procurement plans
in accordance with Section 16-111.5 of the Public
Utilities Act. In order to qualify an expert or expert
consulting firm must have:

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(A) direct previous experience assembling
large-scale power supply plans or portfolios for
end-use customers;
(B) an advanced degree in economics, mathematics,
engineering, risk management, or a related area of
study;
(C) 10 years of experience in the electricity
sector, including managing supply risk;
(D) expertise in wholesale electricity market
rules, including those established by the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission and regional transmission
organizations;
(E) expertise in credit protocols and familiarity
with contract protocols;
(F) adequate resources to perform and fulfill the
required functions and responsibilities; and
(G) the absence of a conflict of interest and
inappropriate bias for or against potential bidders or
the affected electric utilities.
(2) The Agency shall each year, as needed, issue a
request for qualifications for a procurement administrator
to conduct the competitive procurement processes in
accordance with Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities
Act. In order to qualify an expert or expert consulting
firm must have:
(A) direct previous experience administering a

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large-scale competitive procurement process;
(B) an advanced degree in economics, mathematics,
engineering, or a related area of study;
(C) 10 years of experience in the electricity
sector, including risk management experience;
(D) expertise in wholesale electricity market
rules, including those established by the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission and regional transmission
organizations;
(E) expertise in credit and contract protocols;
(F) adequate resources to perform and fulfill the
required functions and responsibilities; and
(G) the absence of a conflict of interest and
inappropriate bias for or against potential bidders or
the affected electric utilities.
(3) The Agency shall provide affected utilities and
other interested parties with the lists of qualified
experts or expert consulting firms identified through the
request for qualifications processes that are under
consideration to develop the procurement plans and to
serve as the procurement administrator. The Agency shall
also provide each qualified expert's or expert consulting
firm's response to the request for qualifications. All
information provided under this subparagraph shall also be
provided to the Commission. The Agency may provide by rule
for fees associated with supplying the information to

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utilities and other interested parties. These parties
shall, within 5 business days, notify the Agency in
writing if they object to any experts or expert consulting
firms on the lists. Objections shall be based on:
(A) failure to satisfy qualification criteria;
(B) identification of a conflict of interest; or
(C) evidence of inappropriate bias for or against
potential bidders or the affected utilities.
The Agency shall remove experts or expert consulting
firms from the lists within 10 days if there is a
reasonable basis for an objection and provide the updated
lists to the affected utilities and other interested
parties. If the Agency fails to remove an expert or expert
consulting firm from a list, an objecting party may seek
review by the Commission within 5 days thereafter by
filing a petition, and the Commission shall render a
ruling on the petition within 10 days. There is no right of
appeal of the Commission's ruling.
(4) The Agency shall issue requests for proposals to
the qualified experts or expert consulting firms to
develop a procurement plan for the affected utilities and
to serve as procurement administrator.
(5) The Agency shall select an expert or expert
consulting firm to develop procurement plans based on the
proposals submitted and shall award contracts of up to 5
years to those selected.

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(6) The Agency shall select an expert or expert
consulting firm, with approval of the Commission, to serve
as procurement administrator based on the proposals
submitted. If the Commission rejects, within 5 days, the
Agency's selection, the Agency shall submit another
recommendation within 3 days based on the proposals
submitted. The Agency shall award a 5-year contract to the
expert or expert consulting firm so selected with
Commission approval.
(b) The experts or expert consulting firms retained by the
Agency shall, as appropriate, prepare procurement plans, and
conduct a competitive procurement process as prescribed in
Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act, to ensure
adequate, reliable, affordable, efficient, and environmentally
sustainable electric service at the lowest total cost over
time, taking into account any benefits of price stability, for
eligible retail customers of electric utilities that on
December 31, 2005 provided electric service to at least
100,000 customers in the State of Illinois, and for eligible
Illinois retail customers of small multi-jurisdictional
electric utilities that (i) on December 31, 2005 served less
than 100,000 customers in Illinois and (ii) request a
procurement plan for their Illinois jurisdictional load.
(c) Renewable portfolio standard.
(1)(A) The Agency shall develop a long-term renewable
resources procurement plan that shall include procurement

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programs and competitive procurement events necessary to
meet the goals set forth in this subsection (c). The
initial long-term renewable resources procurement plan
shall be released for comment no later than 160 days after
June 1, 2017 (the effective date of Public Act 99-906).
The Agency shall review, and may revise on an expedited
basis, the long-term renewable resources procurement plan
at least every 2 years, which shall be conducted in
conjunction with the procurement plan under Section
16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act to the extent
practicable to minimize administrative expense. No later
than 120 days after the effective date of this amendatory
Act of the 102nd General Assembly, the Agency shall
release for comment a revision to the long-term renewable
resources procurement plan, updating elements of the most
recently approved plan as needed to comply with this
amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, and any
long-term renewable resources procurement plan update
published by the Agency but not yet approved by the
Illinois Commerce Commission shall be withdrawn. The
long-term renewable resources procurement plans shall be
subject to review and approval by the Commission under
Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act.
(B) Subject to subparagraph (F) of this paragraph (1),
the long-term renewable resources procurement plan shall
attempt to meet the goals for procurement of renewable

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energy credits at levels of at least the following overall
percentages: 13% by the 2017 delivery year; increasing by
at least 1.5% each delivery year thereafter to at least
25% by the 2025 delivery year; increasing by at least 3%
each delivery year thereafter to at least 40% by the 2030
delivery year, and continuing at no less than 40% for each
delivery year thereafter. The Agency shall attempt to
procure 50% by delivery year 2040. The Agency shall
determine the annual increase between delivery year 2030
and delivery year 2040, if any, taking into account energy
demand, other energy resources, and other public policy
goals. In the event of a conflict between these goals and
the new wind and new photovoltaic procurement requirements
described in items (i) through (iii) of subparagraph (C)
of this paragraph (1), the long-term plan shall prioritize
compliance with the new wind and new photovoltaic
procurement requirements described in items (i) through
(iii) of subparagraph (C) of this paragraph (1) over the
annual percentage targets described in this subparagraph
(B). The Agency shall not comply with the annual
percentage targets described in this subparagraph (B) by
procuring renewable energy credits that are unlikely to
lead to the development of new renewable resources.
For the delivery year beginning June 1, 2017, the
procurement plan shall attempt to include, subject to the
prioritization outlined in this subparagraph (B),

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cost-effective renewable energy resources equal to at
least 13% of each utility's load for eligible retail
customers and 13% of the applicable portion of each
utility's load for retail customers who are not eligible
retail customers, which applicable portion shall equal 50%
of the utility's load for retail customers who are not
eligible retail customers on February 28, 2017.
For the delivery year beginning June 1, 2018, the
procurement plan shall attempt to include, subject to the
prioritization outlined in this subparagraph (B),
cost-effective renewable energy resources equal to at
least 14.5% of each utility's load for eligible retail
customers and 14.5% of the applicable portion of each
utility's load for retail customers who are not eligible
retail customers, which applicable portion shall equal 75%
of the utility's load for retail customers who are not
eligible retail customers on February 28, 2017.
For the delivery year beginning June 1, 2019, and for
each year thereafter, the procurement plans shall attempt
to include, subject to the prioritization outlined in this
subparagraph (B), cost-effective renewable energy
resources equal to a minimum percentage of each utility's
load for all retail customers as follows: 16% by June 1,
2019; increasing by 1.5% each year thereafter to 25% by
June 1, 2025; and 25% by June 1, 2026; increasing by at
least 3% each delivery year thereafter to at least 40% by

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the 2030 delivery year, and continuing at no less than 40%
for each delivery year thereafter. The Agency shall
attempt to procure 50% by delivery year 2040. The Agency
shall determine the annual increase between delivery year
2030 and delivery year 2040, if any, taking into account
energy demand, other energy resources, and other public
policy goals.
For each delivery year, the Agency shall first
recognize each utility's obligations for that delivery
year under existing contracts. Any renewable energy
credits under existing contracts, including renewable
energy credits as part of renewable energy resources,
shall be used to meet the goals set forth in this
subsection (c) for the delivery year.
(C) The long-term renewable resources procurement plan
described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph (1) shall
include the procurement of renewable energy credits from
new projects in amounts equal to at least the following:
(i) 10,000,000 renewable energy credits delivered
annually by the end of the 2021 delivery year, and
increasing ratably to reach 45,000,000 renewable
energy credits delivered annually from new wind, and
solar, and other renewable energy resource projects by
the end of delivery year 2030 such that the goals in
subparagraph (B) of this paragraph (1) are met 75%
entirely by procurements of renewable energy credits

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from new wind and photovoltaic projects and 25% by
other renewable energy resource such that the State
maintains a sufficient, diverse, reliable, and
cost-effective renewable energy resources mix. Of the
75% of procurements from new wind and photovoltaic
projects that amount, to the extent possible, the
Agency shall procure 45% from wind projects and 55%
from photovoltaic projects. Of the amount to be
procured from photovoltaic projects, the Agency shall
procure: at least 50% from solar photovoltaic projects
using the program outlined in subparagraph (K) of this
paragraph (1) from distributed renewable energy
generation devices or community renewable generation
projects; at least 47% from utility-scale solar
projects; at least 3% from brownfield site
photovoltaic projects that are not community renewable
generation projects. To the extent that during any
delivery year the Agency is unable to procure
sufficient renewable energy credits to meet one or
more of these categorical percentages, the Agency
shall attempt to meet the overall annual procurement
goals provided in this Section by procuring renewable
energy credits from another category of renewable
energy resources.
In developing the long-term renewable resources
procurement plan, the Agency shall consider other

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approaches, in addition to competitive procurements,
that can be used to procure renewable energy credits
from brownfield site photovoltaic projects and thereby
help return blighted or contaminated land to
productive use while enhancing public health and the
well-being of Illinois residents, including those in
environmental justice communities, as defined using
existing methodologies and findings used by the Agency
and its Administrator in its Illinois Solar for All
Program.
(ii) In any given delivery year, if forecasted
expenses are less than the maximum budget available
under subparagraph (E) of this paragraph (1), the
Agency shall continue to procure new renewable energy
credits until that budget is exhausted in the manner
outlined in item (i) of this subparagraph (C).
(iii) For purposes of this Section:
"New wind projects" means wind renewable energy
facilities that are energized after June 1, 2017 for
the delivery year commencing June 1, 2017.
"New photovoltaic projects" means photovoltaic
renewable energy facilities that are energized after
June 1, 2017. Photovoltaic projects developed under
Section 1-56 of this Act shall not apply towards the
new photovoltaic project requirements in this
subparagraph (C).

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For purposes of calculating whether the Agency has
procured enough new wind and solar renewable energy
credits required by this subparagraph (C), renewable
energy facilities that have a multi-year renewable
energy credit delivery contract with the utility
through at least delivery year 2030 shall be
considered new, however no renewable energy credits
from contracts entered into before June 1, 2021 shall
be used to calculate whether the Agency has procured
the correct proportion of new wind and new solar
contracts described in this subparagraph (C) for
delivery year 2021 and thereafter.
(D) Renewable energy credits shall be cost effective.
For purposes of this subsection (c), "cost effective"
means that the costs of procuring renewable energy
resources do not cause the limit stated in subparagraph
(E) of this paragraph (1) to be exceeded and, for
renewable energy credits procured through a competitive
procurement event, do not exceed benchmarks based on
market prices for like products in the region. For
purposes of this subsection (c), "like products" means
contracts for renewable energy credits from the same or
substantially similar technology, same or substantially
similar vintage (new or existing), the same or
substantially similar quantity, and the same or
substantially similar contract length and structure.

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Benchmarks shall reflect development, financing, or
related costs resulting from requirements imposed through
other provisions of State law, including, but not limited
to, requirements in subparagraphs (P) and (Q) of this
paragraph (1) and the Renewable Energy Facilities
Agricultural Impact Mitigation Act. Confidential
benchmarks shall be developed by the procurement
administrator, in consultation with the Commission staff,
Agency staff, and the procurement monitor and shall be
subject to Commission review and approval. If price
benchmarks for like products in the region are not
available, the procurement administrator shall establish
price benchmarks based on publicly available data on
regional technology costs and expected current and future
regional energy prices. The benchmarks in this Section
shall not be used to curtail or otherwise reduce
contractual obligations entered into by or through the
Agency prior to June 1, 2017 (the effective date of Public
Act 99-906).
(E) For purposes of this subsection (c), the required
procurement of cost-effective renewable energy resources
for a particular year commencing prior to June 1, 2017
shall be measured as a percentage of the actual amount of
electricity (megawatt-hours) supplied by the electric
utility to eligible retail customers in the delivery year
ending immediately prior to the procurement, and, for

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delivery years commencing on and after June 1, 2017, the
required procurement of cost-effective renewable energy
resources for a particular year shall be measured as a
percentage of the actual amount of electricity
(megawatt-hours) delivered by the electric utility in the
delivery year ending immediately prior to the procurement,
to all retail customers in its service territory. For
purposes of this subsection (c), the amount paid per
kilowatthour means the total amount paid for electric
service expressed on a per kilowatthour basis. For
purposes of this subsection (c), the total amount paid for
electric service includes without limitation amounts paid
for supply, transmission, capacity, distribution,
surcharges, and add-on taxes.
Notwithstanding the requirements of this subsection
(c), the total of renewable energy resources procured
under the procurement plan for any single year shall be
subject to the limitations of this subparagraph (E). Such
procurement shall be reduced for all retail customers
based on the amount necessary to limit the annual
estimated average net increase due to the costs of these
resources included in the amounts paid by eligible retail
customers in connection with electric service to no more
than 4.25% of the amount paid per kilowatthour by those
customers during the year ending May 31, 2009. To arrive
at a maximum dollar amount of renewable energy resources

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to be procured for the particular delivery year, the
resulting per kilowatthour amount shall be applied to the
actual amount of kilowatthours of electricity delivered,
or applicable portion of such amount as specified in
paragraph (1) of this subsection (c), as applicable, by
the electric utility in the delivery year immediately
prior to the procurement to all retail customers in its
service territory. The calculations required by this
subparagraph (E) shall be made only once for each delivery
year at the time that the renewable energy resources are
procured. Once the determination as to the amount of
renewable energy resources to procure is made based on the
calculations set forth in this subparagraph (E) and the
contracts procuring those amounts are executed, no
subsequent rate impact determinations shall be made and no
adjustments to those contract amounts shall be allowed.
All costs incurred under such contracts shall be fully
recoverable by the electric utility as provided in this
Section.
(F) If the limitation on the amount of renewable
energy resources procured in subparagraph (E) of this
paragraph (1) prevents the Agency from meeting all of the
goals in this subsection (c), the Agency's long-term plan
shall prioritize compliance with the requirements of this
subsection (c) regarding renewable energy credits in the
following order:

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(i) renewable energy credits under existing
contractual obligations as of June 1, 2021;
(i-5) funding for the Illinois Solar for All
Program, as described in subparagraph (O) of this
paragraph (1);
(ii) renewable energy credits necessary to comply
with the new wind and new photovoltaic procurement
requirements described in items (i) through (iii) of
subparagraph (C) of this paragraph (1); and
(iii) renewable energy credits necessary to meet
the remaining requirements of this subsection (c).
(G) The following provisions shall apply to the
Agency's procurement of renewable energy credits under
this subsection (c):
(i) Notwithstanding whether a long-term renewable
resources procurement plan has been approved, the
Agency shall conduct an initial forward procurement
for renewable energy credits from new utility-scale
wind projects within 160 days after June 1, 2017 (the
effective date of Public Act 99-906). For the purposes
of this initial forward procurement, the Agency shall
solicit 15-year contracts for delivery of 1,000,000
renewable energy credits delivered annually from new
utility-scale wind projects to begin delivery on June
1, 2019, if available, but not later than June 1, 2021,
unless the project has delays in the establishment of

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an operating interconnection with the applicable
transmission or distribution system as a result of the
actions or inactions of the transmission or
distribution provider, or other causes for force
majeure as outlined in the procurement contract, in
which case, not later than June 1, 2022. Payments to
suppliers of renewable energy credits shall commence
upon delivery. Renewable energy credits procured under
this initial procurement shall be included in the
Agency's long-term plan and shall apply to all
renewable energy goals in this subsection (c).
(ii) Notwithstanding whether a long-term renewable
resources procurement plan has been approved, the
Agency shall conduct an initial forward procurement
for renewable energy credits from new utility-scale
solar projects and brownfield site photovoltaic
projects within one year after June 1, 2017 (the
effective date of Public Act 99-906). For the purposes
of this initial forward procurement, the Agency shall
solicit 15-year contracts for delivery of 1,000,000
renewable energy credits delivered annually from new
utility-scale solar projects and brownfield site
photovoltaic projects to begin delivery on June 1,
2019, if available, but not later than June 1, 2021,
unless the project has delays in the establishment of
an operating interconnection with the applicable

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transmission or distribution system as a result of the
actions or inactions of the transmission or
distribution provider, or other causes for force
majeure as outlined in the procurement contract, in
which case, not later than June 1, 2022. The Agency may
structure this initial procurement in one or more
discrete procurement events. Payments to suppliers of
renewable energy credits shall commence upon delivery.
Renewable energy credits procured under this initial
procurement shall be included in the Agency's
long-term plan and shall apply to all renewable energy
goals in this subsection (c).
(iii) Notwithstanding whether the Commission has
approved the periodic long-term renewable resources
procurement plan revision described in Section
16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act, the Agency shall
conduct at least one subsequent forward procurement
for renewable energy credits from new utility-scale
wind projects, new utility-scale solar projects, and
new brownfield site photovoltaic projects within 240
days after the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 102nd General Assembly in quantities necessary
to meet the requirements of subparagraph (C) of this
paragraph (1) through the delivery year beginning June
1, 2021.
(iv) Notwithstanding whether the Commission has

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approved the periodic long-term renewable resources
procurement plan revision described in Section
16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act, the Agency shall
open capacity for each category in the Adjustable
Block program within 90 days after the effective date
of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly
manner:
(1) The Agency shall open the first block of
annual capacity for the category described in item
(i) of subparagraph (K) of this paragraph (1). The
first block of annual capacity for item (i) shall
be for at least 75 megawatts of total nameplate
capacity. The price of the renewable energy credit
for this block of capacity shall be 4% less than
the price of the last open block in this category.
Projects on a waitlist shall be awarded contracts
first in the order in which they appear on the
waitlist. Notwithstanding anything to the
contrary, for those renewable energy credits that
qualify and are procured under this subitem (1) of
this item (iv), the renewable energy credit
delivery contract value shall be paid in full,
based on the estimated generation during the first
15 years of operation, by the contracting
utilities at the time that the facility producing
the renewable energy credits is interconnected at

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the distribution system level of the utility and
verified as energized and in compliance by the
Program Administrator. The electric utility shall
receive and retire all renewable energy credits
generated by the project for the first 15 years of
operation. Renewable energy credits generated by
the project thereafter shall not be transferred
under the renewable energy credit delivery
contract with the counterparty electric utility.
(2) The Agency shall open the first block of
annual capacity for the category described in item
(ii) of subparagraph (K) of this paragraph (1).
The first block of annual capacity for item (ii)
shall be for at least 75 megawatts of total
nameplate capacity.
(A) The price of the renewable energy
credit for any project on a waitlist for this
category before the opening of this block
shall be 4% less than the price of the last
open block in this category. Projects on the
waitlist shall be awarded contracts first in
the order in which they appear on the
waitlist. Any projects that are less than or
equal to 25 kilowatts in size on the waitlist
for this capacity shall be moved to the
waitlist for paragraph (1) of this item (iv).

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Notwithstanding anything to the contrary,
projects that were on the waitlist prior to
opening of this block shall not be required to
be in compliance with the requirements of
subparagraph (Q) of this paragraph (1) of this
subsection (c). Notwithstanding anything to
the contrary, for those renewable energy
credits procured from projects that were on
the waitlist for this category before the
opening of this block 20% of the renewable
energy credit delivery contract value, based
on the estimated generation during the first
15 years of operation, shall be paid by the
contracting utilities at the time that the
facility producing the renewable energy
credits is interconnected at the distribution
system level of the utility and verified as
energized by the Program Administrator. The
remaining portion shall be paid ratably over
the subsequent 4-year period. The electric
utility shall receive and retire all renewable
energy credits generated by the project during
the first 15 years of operation. Renewable
energy credits generated by the project
thereafter shall not be transferred under the
renewable energy credit delivery contract with

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the counterparty electric utility.
(B) The price of renewable energy credits
for any project not on the waitlist for this
category before the opening of the block shall
be determined and published by the Agency.
Projects not on a waitlist as of the opening
of this block shall be subject to the
requirements of subparagraph (Q) of this
paragraph (1), as applicable. Projects not on
a waitlist as of the opening of this block
shall be subject to the contract provisions
outlined in item (iii) of subparagraph (L) of
this paragraph (1). The Agency shall strive to
publish updated prices and an updated
renewable energy credit delivery contract as
quickly as possible.
(3) For opening the first 2 blocks of annual
capacity for projects participating in item (iii)
of subparagraph (K) of paragraph (1) of subsection
(c), projects shall be selected exclusively from
those projects on the ordinal waitlists of
community renewable generation projects
established by the Agency based on the status of
those ordinal waitlists as of December 31, 2020,
and only those projects previously determined to
be eligible for the Agency's April 2019 community

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solar project selection process.
The first 2 blocks of annual capacity for item
(iii) shall be for 250 megawatts of total
nameplate capacity, with both blocks opening
simultaneously under the schedule outlined in the
paragraphs below. Projects shall be selected as
follows:
(A) The geographic balance of selected
projects shall follow the Group classification
found in the Agency's Revised Long-Term
Renewable Resources Procurement Plan, with 70%
of capacity allocated to projects on the Group
B waitlist and 30% of capacity allocated to
projects on the Group A waitlist.
(B) Contract awards for waitlisted
projects shall be allocated proportionate to
the total nameplate capacity amount across
both ordinal waitlists associated with that
applicant firm or its affiliates, subject to
the following conditions.
(i) Each applicant firm having a
waitlisted project eligible for selection
shall receive no less than 500 kilowatts
in awarded capacity across all groups, and
no approved vendor may receive more than
20% of each Group's waitlist allocation.

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(ii) Each applicant firm, upon
receiving an award of program capacity
proportionate to its waitlisted capacity,
may then determine which waitlisted
projects it chooses to be selected for a
contract award up to that capacity amount.
(iii) Assuming all other program
requirements are met, applicant firms may
adjust the nameplate capacity of applicant
projects without losing waitlist
eligibility, so long as no project is
greater than 2,000 kilowatts in size.
(iv) Assuming all other program
requirements are met, applicant firms may
adjust the expected production associated
with applicant projects, subject to
verification by the Program Administrator.
(C) After a review of affiliate
information and the current ordinal waitlists,
the Agency shall announce the nameplate
capacity award amounts associated with
applicant firms no later than 90 days after
the effective date of this amendatory Act of
the 102nd General Assembly.
(D) Applicant firms shall submit their
portfolio of projects used to satisfy those

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contract awards no less than 90 days after the
Agency's announcement. The total nameplate
capacity of all projects used to satisfy that
portfolio shall be no greater than the
Agency's nameplate capacity award amount
associated with that applicant firm. An
applicant firm may decline, in whole or in
part, its nameplate capacity award without
penalty, with such unmet capacity rolled over
to the next block opening for project
selection under item (iii) of subparagraph (K)
of this subsection (c). Any projects not
included in an applicant firm's portfolio may
reapply without prejudice upon the next block
reopening for project selection under item
(iii) of subparagraph (K) of this subsection
(c).
(E) The renewable energy credit delivery
contract shall be subject to the contract and
payment terms outlined in item (iv) of
subparagraph (L) of this subsection (c).
Contract instruments used for this
subparagraph shall contain the following
terms:
(i) Renewable energy credit prices
shall be fixed, without further adjustment

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under any other provision of this Act or
for any other reason, at 10% lower than
prices applicable to the last open block
for this category, inclusive of any adders
available for achieving a minimum of 50%
of subscribers to the project's nameplate
capacity being residential or small
commercial customers with subscriptions of
below 25 kilowatts in size;
(ii) A requirement that a minimum of
50% of subscribers to the project's
nameplate capacity be residential or small
commercial customers with subscriptions of
below 25 kilowatts in size;
(iii) Permission for the ability of a
contract holder to substitute projects
with other waitlisted projects without
penalty should a project receive a
non-binding estimate of costs to construct
the interconnection facilities and any
required distribution upgrades associated
with that project of greater than 30 cents
per watt AC of that project's nameplate
capacity. In developing the applicable
contract instrument, the Agency may
consider whether other circumstances

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outside of the control of the applicant
firm should also warrant project
substitution rights.
The Agency shall publish a finalized
updated renewable energy credit delivery
contract developed consistent with these terms
and conditions no less than 30 days before
applicant firms must submit their portfolio of
projects pursuant to item (D).
(F) To be eligible for an award, the
applicant firm shall certify that not less
than prevailing wage, as determined pursuant
to the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act, was or
will be paid to employees who are engaged in
construction activities associated with a
selected project.
(4) The Agency shall open the first block of
annual capacity for the category described in item
(iv) of subparagraph (K) of this paragraph (1).
The first block of annual capacity for item (iv)
shall be for at least 50 megawatts of total
nameplate capacity. Renewable energy credit prices
shall be fixed, without further adjustment under
any other provision of this Act or for any other
reason, at the price in the last open block in the
category described in item (ii) of subparagraph

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(K) of this paragraph (1). Pricing for future
blocks of annual capacity for this category may be
adjusted in the Agency's second revision to its
Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan.
Projects in this category shall be subject to the
contract terms outlined in item (iv) of
subparagraph (L) of this paragraph (1).
(5) The Agency shall open the equivalent of 2
years of annual capacity for the category
described in item (v) of subparagraph (K) of this
paragraph (1). The first block of annual capacity
for item (v) shall be for at least 10 megawatts of
total nameplate capacity. Notwithstanding the
provisions of item (v) of subparagraph (K) of this
paragraph (1), for the purpose of this initial
block, the agency shall accept new project
applications intended to increase the diversity of
areas hosting community solar projects, the
business models of projects, and the size of
projects, as described by the Agency in its
long-term renewable resources procurement plan
that is approved as of the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly.
Projects in this category shall be subject to the
contract terms outlined in item (iii) of
subsection (L) of this paragraph (1).

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(6) The Agency shall open the first blocks of
annual capacity for the category described in item
(vi) of subparagraph (K) of this paragraph (1),
with allocations of capacity within the block
generally matching the historical share of block
capacity allocated between the category described
in items (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (K) of this
paragraph (1). The first two blocks of annual
capacity for item (vi) shall be for at least 75
megawatts of total nameplate capacity. The price
of renewable energy credits for the blocks of
capacity shall be 4% less than the price of the
last open blocks in the categories described in
items (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (K) of this
paragraph (1). Pricing for future blocks of annual
capacity for this category may be adjusted in the
Agency's second revision to its Long-Term
Renewable Resources Procurement Plan. Projects in
this category shall be subject to the applicable
contract terms outlined in items (ii) and (iii) of
subparagraph (L) of this paragraph (1).
(v) Upon the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 102nd General Assembly, for all competitive
procurements and any procurements of renewable energy
credit from new utility-scale wind and new
utility-scale photovoltaic projects, the Agency shall

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procure indexed renewable energy credits and direct
respondents to offer a strike price.
(1) The purchase price of the indexed
renewable energy credit payment shall be
calculated for each settlement period. That
payment, for any settlement period, shall be equal
to the difference resulting from subtracting the
strike price from the index price for that
settlement period. If this difference results in a
negative number, the indexed REC counterparty
shall owe the seller the absolute value multiplied
by the quantity of energy produced in the relevant
settlement period. If this difference results in a
positive number, the seller shall owe the indexed
REC counterparty this amount multiplied by the
quantity of energy produced in the relevant
settlement period.
(2) Parties shall cash settle every month,
summing up all settlements (both positive and
negative, if applicable) for the prior month.
(3) To ensure funding in the annual budget
established under subparagraph (E) for indexed
renewable energy credit procurements for each year
of the term of such contracts, which must have a
minimum tenure of 20 calendar years, the
procurement administrator, Agency, Commission

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staff, and procurement monitor shall quantify the
annual cost of the contract by utilizing an
industry-standard, third-party forward price curve
for energy at the appropriate hub or load zone,
including the estimated magnitude and timing of
the price effects related to federal carbon
controls. Each forward price curve shall contain a
specific value of the forecasted market price of
electricity for each annual delivery year of the
contract. For procurement planning purposes, the
impact on the annual budget for the cost of
indexed renewable energy credits for each delivery
year shall be determined as the expected annual
contract expenditure for that year, equaling the
difference between (i) the sum across all relevant
contracts of the applicable strike price
multiplied by contract quantity and (ii) the sum
across all relevant contracts of the forward price
curve for the applicable load zone for that year
multiplied by contract quantity. The contracting
utility shall not assume an obligation in excess
of the estimated annual cost of the contracts for
indexed renewable energy credits. Forward curves
shall be revised on an annual basis as updated
forward price curves are released and filed with
the Commission in the proceeding approving the

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Agency's most recent long-term renewable resources
procurement plan. If the expected contract spend
is higher or lower than the total quantity of
contracts multiplied by the forward price curve
value for that year, the forward price curve shall
be updated by the procurement administrator, in
consultation with the Agency, Commission staff,
and procurement monitors, using then-currently
available price forecast data and additional
budget dollars shall be obligated or reobligated
as appropriate.
(4) To ensure that indexed renewable energy
credit prices remain predictable and affordable,
the Agency may consider the institution of a price
collar on REC prices paid under indexed renewable
energy credit procurements establishing floor and
ceiling REC prices applicable to indexed REC
contract prices. Any price collars applicable to
indexed REC procurements shall be proposed by the
Agency through its long-term renewable resources
procurement plan.
(vi) All procurements under this subparagraph (G)
shall comply with the geographic requirements in
subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (1) and shall
follow the procurement processes and procedures
described in this Section and Section 16-111.5 of the

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Public Utilities Act to the extent practicable, and
these processes and procedures may be expedited to
accommodate the schedule established by this
subparagraph (G).
(H) The procurement of renewable energy resources for
a given delivery year shall be reduced as described in
this subparagraph (H) if an alternative retail electric
supplier meets the requirements described in this
subparagraph (H).
(i) Within 45 days after June 1, 2017 (the
effective date of Public Act 99-906), an alternative
retail electric supplier or its successor shall submit
an informational filing to the Illinois Commerce
Commission certifying that, as of December 31, 2015,
the alternative retail electric supplier owned one or
more electric generating facilities that generates
renewable energy resources as defined in Section 1-10
of this Act, provided that such facilities are not
powered by wind or photovoltaics, and the facilities
generate one renewable energy credit for each
megawatthour of energy produced from the facility.
The informational filing shall identify each
facility that was eligible to satisfy the alternative
retail electric supplier's obligations under Section
16-115D of the Public Utilities Act as described in
this item (i).

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(ii) For a given delivery year, the alternative
retail electric supplier may elect to supply its
retail customers with renewable energy credits from
the facility or facilities described in item (i) of
this subparagraph (H) that continue to be owned by the
alternative retail electric supplier.
(iii) The alternative retail electric supplier
shall notify the Agency and the applicable utility, no
later than February 28 of the year preceding the
applicable delivery year or 15 days after June 1, 2017
(the effective date of Public Act 99-906), whichever
is later, of its election under item (ii) of this
subparagraph (H) to supply renewable energy credits to
retail customers of the utility. Such election shall
identify the amount of renewable energy credits to be
supplied by the alternative retail electric supplier
to the utility's retail customers and the source of
the renewable energy credits identified in the
informational filing as described in item (i) of this
subparagraph (H), subject to the following
limitations:
For the delivery year beginning June 1, 2018,
the maximum amount of renewable energy credits to
be supplied by an alternative retail electric
supplier under this subparagraph (H) shall be 68%
multiplied by 25% multiplied by 14.5% multiplied

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by the amount of metered electricity
(megawatt-hours) delivered by the alternative
retail electric supplier to Illinois retail
customers during the delivery year ending May 31,
2016.
For delivery years beginning June 1, 2019 and
each year thereafter, the maximum amount of
renewable energy credits to be supplied by an
alternative retail electric supplier under this
subparagraph (H) shall be 68% multiplied by 50%
multiplied by 16% multiplied by the amount of
metered electricity (megawatt-hours) delivered by
the alternative retail electric supplier to
Illinois retail customers during the delivery year
ending May 31, 2016, provided that the 16% value
shall increase by 1.5% each delivery year
thereafter to 25% by the delivery year beginning
June 1, 2025, and thereafter the 25% value shall
apply to each delivery year.
For each delivery year, the total amount of
renewable energy credits supplied by all alternative
retail electric suppliers under this subparagraph (H)
shall not exceed 9% of the Illinois target renewable
energy credit quantity. The Illinois target renewable
energy credit quantity for the delivery year beginning
June 1, 2018 is 14.5% multiplied by the total amount of

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metered electricity (megawatt-hours) delivered in the
delivery year immediately preceding that delivery
year, provided that the 14.5% shall increase by 1.5%
each delivery year thereafter to 25% by the delivery
year beginning June 1, 2025, and thereafter the 25%
value shall apply to each delivery year.
If the requirements set forth in items (i) through
(iii) of this subparagraph (H) are met, the charges
that would otherwise be applicable to the retail
customers of the alternative retail electric supplier
under paragraph (6) of this subsection (c) for the
applicable delivery year shall be reduced by the ratio
of the quantity of renewable energy credits supplied
by the alternative retail electric supplier compared
to that supplier's target renewable energy credit
quantity. The supplier's target renewable energy
credit quantity for the delivery year beginning June
1, 2018 is 14.5% multiplied by the total amount of
metered electricity (megawatt-hours) delivered by the
alternative retail supplier in that delivery year,
provided that the 14.5% shall increase by 1.5% each
delivery year thereafter to 25% by the delivery year
beginning June 1, 2025, and thereafter the 25% value
shall apply to each delivery year.
On or before April 1 of each year, the Agency shall
annually publish a report on its website that

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identifies the aggregate amount of renewable energy
credits supplied by alternative retail electric
suppliers under this subparagraph (H).
(I) The Agency shall design its long-term renewable
energy procurement plan to maximize the State's interest
in the health, safety, and welfare of its residents,
including but not limited to minimizing sulfur dioxide,
nitrogen oxide, particulate matter and other pollution
that adversely affects public health in this State,
increasing fuel and resource diversity in this State,
enhancing the reliability and resiliency of the
electricity distribution system in this State, meeting
goals to limit carbon dioxide emissions under federal or
State law, and contributing to a cleaner and healthier
environment for the citizens of this State. In order to
further these legislative purposes, renewable energy
credits shall be eligible to be counted toward the
renewable energy requirements of this subsection (c) if
they are generated from facilities located in this State.
The Agency may qualify renewable energy credits from
facilities located in states adjacent to Illinois or
renewable energy credits associated with the electricity
generated by a utility-scale wind energy facility or
utility-scale photovoltaic facility and transmitted by a
qualifying direct current project described in subsection
(b-5) of Section 8-406 of the Public Utilities Act to a

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delivery point on the electric transmission grid located
in this State or a state adjacent to Illinois, if the
generator demonstrates and the Agency determines that the
operation of such facility or facilities will help promote
the State's interest in the health, safety, and welfare of
its residents based on the public interest criteria
described above. For the purposes of this Section,
renewable resources that are delivered via a high voltage
direct current converter station located in Illinois shall
be deemed generated in Illinois at the time and location
the energy is converted to alternating current by the high
voltage direct current converter station if the high
voltage direct current transmission line: (i) after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General
Assembly, was constructed with a project labor agreement;
(ii) is capable of transmitting electricity at 525kv;
(iii) has an Illinois converter station located and
interconnected in the region of the PJM Interconnection,
LLC; (iv) does not operate as a public utility; and (v) if
the high voltage direct current transmission line was
energized after June 1, 2023. To ensure that the public
interest criteria are applied to the procurement and given
full effect, the Agency's long-term procurement plan shall
describe in detail how each public interest factor shall
be considered and weighted for facilities located in
states adjacent to Illinois.

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(J) In order to promote the competitive development of
renewable energy resources in furtherance of the State's
interest in the health, safety, and welfare of its
residents, renewable energy credits shall not be eligible
to be counted toward the renewable energy requirements of
this subsection (c) if they are sourced from a generating
unit whose costs were being recovered through rates
regulated by this State or any other state or states on or
after January 1, 2017. Each contract executed to purchase
renewable energy credits under this subsection (c) shall
provide for the contract's termination if the costs of the
generating unit supplying the renewable energy credits
subsequently begin to be recovered through rates regulated
by this State or any other state or states; and each
contract shall further provide that, in that event, the
supplier of the credits must return 110% of all payments
received under the contract. Amounts returned under the
requirements of this subparagraph (J) shall be retained by
the utility and all of these amounts shall be used for the
procurement of additional renewable energy credits from
new wind or new photovoltaic resources as defined in this
subsection (c). The long-term plan shall provide that
these renewable energy credits shall be procured in the
next procurement event.
Notwithstanding the limitations of this subparagraph
(J), renewable energy credits sourced from generating

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units that are constructed, purchased, owned, or leased by
an electric utility as part of an approved project,
program, or pilot under Section 1-56 of this Act shall be
eligible to be counted toward the renewable energy
requirements of this subsection (c), regardless of how the
costs of these units are recovered. As long as a
generating unit or an identifiable portion of a generating
unit has not had and does not have its costs recovered
through rates regulated by this State or any other state,
HVDC renewable energy credits associated with that
generating unit or identifiable portion thereof shall be
eligible to be counted toward the renewable energy
requirements of this subsection (c).
(K) The long-term renewable resources procurement plan
developed by the Agency in accordance with subparagraph
(A) of this paragraph (1) shall include an Adjustable
Block program for the procurement of renewable energy
credits from new photovoltaic projects that are
distributed renewable energy generation devices or new
photovoltaic community renewable generation projects. The
Adjustable Block program shall be generally designed to
provide for the steady, predictable, and sustainable
growth of new solar photovoltaic development in Illinois.
To this end, the Adjustable Block program shall provide a
transparent annual schedule of prices and quantities to
enable the photovoltaic market to scale up and for

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renewable energy credit prices to adjust at a predictable
rate over time. The prices set by the Adjustable Block
program can be reflected as a set value or as the product
of a formula.
The Adjustable Block program shall include for each
category of eligible projects for each delivery year: a
single block of nameplate capacity, a price for renewable
energy credits within that block, and the terms and
conditions for securing a spot on a waitlist once the
block is fully committed or reserved. Except as outlined
below, the waitlist of projects in a given year will carry
over to apply to the subsequent year when another block is
opened. Only projects energized on or after June 1, 2017
shall be eligible for the Adjustable Block program. For
each category for each delivery year the Agency shall
determine the amount of generation capacity in each block,
and the purchase price for each block, provided that the
purchase price provided and the total amount of generation
in all blocks for all categories shall be sufficient to
meet the goals in this subsection (c). The Agency shall
strive to issue a single block sized to provide for
stability and market growth. The Agency shall establish
program eligibility requirements that ensure that projects
that enter the program are sufficiently mature to indicate
a demonstrable path to completion. The Agency may
periodically review its prior decisions establishing the

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amount of generation capacity in each block, and the
purchase price for each block, and may propose, on an
expedited basis, changes to these previously set values,
including but not limited to redistributing these amounts
and the available funds as necessary and appropriate,
subject to Commission approval as part of the periodic
plan revision process described in Section 16-111.5 of the
Public Utilities Act. The Agency may define different
block sizes, purchase prices, or other distinct terms and
conditions for projects located in different utility
service territories if the Agency deems it necessary to
meet the goals in this subsection (c).
The Adjustable Block program shall include the
following categories in at least the following amounts:
(i) At least 20% from distributed renewable energy
generation devices with a nameplate capacity of no
more than 25 kilowatts.
(ii) At least 20% from distributed renewable
energy generation devices with a nameplate capacity of
more than 25 kilowatts and no more than 5,000
kilowatts. The Agency may create sub-categories within
this category to account for the differences between
projects for small commercial customers, large
commercial customers, and public or non-profit
customers.
(iii) At least 30% from photovoltaic community

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renewable generation projects. Capacity for this
category for the first 2 delivery years after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd
General Assembly shall be allocated to waitlist
projects as provided in paragraph (3) of item (iv) of
subparagraph (G). Starting in the third delivery year
after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
102nd General Assembly or earlier if the Agency
determines there is additional capacity needed for to
meet previous delivery year requirements, the
following shall apply:
(1) the Agency shall select projects on a
first-come, first-serve basis, however the Agency
may suggest additional methods to prioritize
projects that are submitted at the same time;
(2) projects shall have subscriptions of 25 kW
or less for at least 50% of the facility's
nameplate capacity and the Agency shall price the
renewable energy credits with that as a factor;
(3) projects shall not be colocated with one
or more other community renewable generation
projects, as defined in the Agency's first revised
long-term renewable resources procurement plan
approved by the Commission on February 18, 2020,
such that the aggregate nameplate capacity exceeds
5,000 kilowatts; and

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(4) projects greater than 2 MW may not apply
until after the approval of the Agency's revised
Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan
after the effective date of this amendatory Act of
the 102nd General Assembly.
(iv) At least 15% from distributed renewable
generation devices or photovoltaic community renewable
generation projects installed at public schools. The
Agency may create subcategories within this category
to account for the differences between project size or
location. Projects located within environmental
justice communities or within Organizational Units
that fall within Tier 1 or Tier 2 shall be given
priority. Each of the Agency's periodic updates to its
long-term renewable resources procurement plan to
incorporate the procurement described in this
subparagraph (iv) shall also include the proposed
quantities or blocks, pricing, and contract terms
applicable to the procurement as indicated herein. In
each such update and procurement, the Agency shall set
the renewable energy credit price and establish
payment terms for the renewable energy credits
procured pursuant to this subparagraph (iv) that make
it feasible and affordable for public schools to
install photovoltaic distributed renewable energy
devices on their premises, including, but not limited

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to, those public schools subject to the prioritization
provisions of this subparagraph. For the purposes of
this item (iv):
"Environmental Justice Community" shall have the
same meaning set forth in the Agency's long-term
renewable resources procurement plan;
"Organization Unit", "Tier 1" and "Tier 2" shall
have the meanings set for in Section 18-8.15 of the
School Code;
"Public schools" shall have the meaning set forth
in Section 1-3 of the School Code.
(v) At least 5% from community-driven community
solar projects intended to provide more direct and
tangible connection and benefits to the communities
which they serve or in which they operate and,
additionally, to increase the variety of community
solar locations, models, and options in Illinois. As
part of its long-term renewable resources procurement
plan, the Agency shall develop selection criteria for
projects participating in this category. Nothing in
this Section shall preclude the Agency from creating a
selection process that maximizes community ownership
and community benefits in selecting projects to
receive renewable energy credits. Selection criteria
shall include:
(1) community ownership or community

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wealth-building;
(2) additional direct and indirect community
benefit, beyond project participation as a
subscriber, including, but not limited to,
economic, environmental, social, cultural, and
physical benefits;
(3) meaningful involvement in project
organization and development by community members
or nonprofit organizations or public entities
located in or serving the community;
(4) engagement in project operations and
management by nonprofit organizations, public
entities, or community members; and
(5) whether a project is developed in response
to a site-specific RFP developed by community
members or a nonprofit organization or public
entity located in or serving the community.
Selection criteria may also prioritize projects
that:
(1) are developed in collaboration with or to
provide complementary opportunities for the Clean
Jobs Workforce Network Program, the Illinois
Climate Works Preapprenticeship Program, the
Returning Residents Clean Jobs Training Program,
the Clean Energy Contractor Incubator Program, or
the Clean Energy Primes Contractor Accelerator

SB2012 - 88 - LRB103 25519 AMQ 51868 b
Program;
(2) increase the diversity of locations of
community solar projects in Illinois, including by
locating in urban areas and population centers;
(3) are located in Equity Investment Eligible
Communities;
(4) are not greenfield projects;
(5) serve only local subscribers;
(6) have a nameplate capacity that does not
exceed 500 kW;
(7) are developed by an equity eligible
contractor; or
(8) otherwise meaningfully advance the goals
of providing more direct and tangible connection
and benefits to the communities which they serve
or in which they operate and increasing the
variety of community solar locations, models, and
options in Illinois.
For the purposes of this item (v):
"Community" means a social unit in which people
come together regularly to effect change; a social
unit in which participants are marked by a cooperative
spirit, a common purpose, or shared interests or
characteristics; or a space understood by its
residents to be delineated through geographic
boundaries or landmarks.

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"Community benefit" means a range of services and
activities that provide affirmative, economic,
environmental, social, cultural, or physical value to
a community; or a mechanism that enables economic
development, high-quality employment, and education
opportunities for local workers and residents, or
formal monitoring and oversight structures such that
community members may ensure that those services and
activities respond to local knowledge and needs.
"Community ownership" means an arrangement in
which an electric generating facility is, or over time
will be, in significant part, owned collectively by
members of the community to which an electric
generating facility provides benefits; members of that
community participate in decisions regarding the
governance, operation, maintenance, and upgrades of
and to that facility; and members of that community
benefit from regular use of that facility.
Terms and guidance within these criteria that are
not defined in this item (v) shall be defined by the
Agency, with stakeholder input, during the development
of the Agency's long-term renewable resources
procurement plan. The Agency shall develop regular
opportunities for projects to submit applications for
projects under this category, and develop selection
criteria that gives preference to projects that better

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meet individual criteria as well as projects that
address a higher number of criteria.
(vi) At least 10% from distributed renewable
energy generation devices, which includes distributed
renewable energy devices with a nameplate capacity
under 5,000 kilowatts or photovoltaic community
renewable generation projects, from applicants that
are equity eligible contractors. The Agency may create
subcategories within this category to account for the
differences between project size and type. The Agency
shall propose to increase the percentage in this item
(vi) over time to 40% based on factors, including, but
not limited to, the number of equity eligible
contractors and capacity used in this item (vi) in
previous delivery years.
The Agency shall propose a payment structure for
contracts executed pursuant to this paragraph under
which, upon a demonstration of qualification or need,
applicant firms are advanced capital disbursed after
contract execution but before the contracted project's
energization. The amount or percentage of capital
advanced prior to project energization shall be
sufficient to both cover any increase in development
costs resulting from prevailing wage requirements or
project-labor agreements, and designed to overcome
barriers in access to capital faced by equity eligible

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contractors. The amount or percentage of advanced
capital may vary by subcategory within this category
and by an applicant's demonstration of need, with such
levels to be established through the Long-Term
Renewable Resources Procurement Plan authorized under
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of
this Section.
Contracts developed featuring capital advanced
prior to a project's energization shall feature
provisions to ensure both the successful development
of applicant projects and the delivery of the
renewable energy credits for the full term of the
contract, including ongoing collateral requirements
and other provisions deemed necessary by the Agency,
and may include energization timelines longer than for
comparable project types. The percentage or amount of
capital advanced prior to project energization shall
not operate to increase the overall contract value,
however contracts executed under this subparagraph may
feature renewable energy credit prices higher than
those offered to similar projects participating in
other categories. Capital advanced prior to
energization shall serve to reduce the ratable
payments made after energization under items (ii) and
(iii) of subparagraph (L) or payments made for each
renewable energy credit delivery under item (iv) of

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subparagraph (L).
(vii) The remaining capacity shall be allocated by
the Agency in order to respond to market demand. The
Agency shall allocate any discretionary capacity prior
to the beginning of each delivery year.
To the extent there is uncontracted capacity from any
block in any of categories (i) through (vi) at the end of a
delivery year, the Agency shall redistribute that capacity
to one or more other categories giving priority to
categories with projects on a waitlist. The redistributed
capacity shall be added to the annual capacity in the
subsequent delivery year, and the price for renewable
energy credits shall be the price for the new delivery
year. Redistributed capacity shall not be considered
redistributed when determining whether the goals in this
subsection (K) have been met.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, as the
Agency increases the capacity in item (vi) to 40% over
time, the Agency may reduce the capacity of items (i)
through (v) proportionate to the capacity of the
categories of projects in item (vi), to achieve a balance
of project types.
The Adjustable Block program shall be designed to
ensure that renewable energy credits are procured from
projects in diverse locations and are not concentrated in
a few regional areas.

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(L) Notwithstanding provisions for advancing capital
prior to project energization found in item (vi) of
subparagraph (K), the procurement of photovoltaic
renewable energy credits under items (i) through (vi) of
subparagraph (K) of this paragraph (1) shall otherwise be
subject to the following contract and payment terms:
(i) (Blank).
(ii) For those renewable energy credits that
qualify and are procured under item (i) of
subparagraph (K) of this paragraph (1), and any
similar category projects that are procured under item
(vi) of subparagraph (K) of this paragraph (1) that
qualify and are procured under item (vi), the contract
length shall be 15 years. The renewable energy credit
delivery contract value shall be paid in full, based
on the estimated generation during the first 15 years
of operation, by the contracting utilities at the time
that the facility producing the renewable energy
credits is interconnected at the distribution system
level of the utility and verified as energized and
compliant by the Program Administrator. The electric
utility shall receive and retire all renewable energy
credits generated by the project for the first 15
years of operation. Renewable energy credits generated
by the project thereafter shall not be transferred
under the renewable energy credit delivery contract

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with the counterparty electric utility.
(iii) For those renewable energy credits that
qualify and are procured under item (ii) and (v) of
subparagraph (K) of this paragraph (1) and any like
projects similar category that qualify and are
procured under item (vi), the contract length shall be
15 years. 15% of the renewable energy credit delivery
contract value, based on the estimated generation
during the first 15 years of operation, shall be paid
by the contracting utilities at the time that the
facility producing the renewable energy credits is
interconnected at the distribution system level of the
utility and verified as energized and compliant by the
Program Administrator. The remaining portion shall be
paid ratably over the subsequent 6-year period. The
electric utility shall receive and retire all
renewable energy credits generated by the project for
the first 15 years of operation. Renewable energy
credits generated by the project thereafter shall not
be transferred under the renewable energy credit
delivery contract with the counterparty electric
utility.
(iv) For those renewable energy credits that
qualify and are procured under items (iii) and (iv) of
subparagraph (K) of this paragraph (1), and any like
projects that qualify and are procured under item

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(vi), the renewable energy credit delivery contract
length shall be 20 years and shall be paid over the
delivery term, not to exceed during each delivery year
the contract price multiplied by the estimated annual
renewable energy credit generation amount. If
generation of renewable energy credits during a
delivery year exceeds the estimated annual generation
amount, the excess renewable energy credits shall be
carried forward to future delivery years and shall not
expire during the delivery term. If generation of
renewable energy credits during a delivery year,
including carried forward excess renewable energy
credits, if any, is less than the estimated annual
generation amount, payments during such delivery year
will not exceed the quantity generated plus the
quantity carried forward multiplied by the contract
price. The electric utility shall receive all
renewable energy credits generated by the project
during the first 20 years of operation and retire all
renewable energy credits paid for under this item (iv)
and return at the end of the delivery term all
renewable energy credits that were not paid for.
Renewable energy credits generated by the project
thereafter shall not be transferred under the
renewable energy credit delivery contract with the
counterparty electric utility. Notwithstanding the

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preceding, for those projects participating under item
(iii) of subparagraph (K), the contract price for a
delivery year shall be based on subscription levels as
measured on the higher of the first business day of the
delivery year or the first business day 6 months after
the first business day of the delivery year.
Subscription of 90% of nameplate capacity or greater
shall be deemed to be fully subscribed for the
purposes of this item (iv). For projects receiving a
20-year delivery contract, REC prices shall be
adjusted downward for consistency with the incentive
levels previously determined to be necessary to
support projects under 15-year delivery contracts,
taking into consideration any additional new
requirements placed on the projects, including, but
not limited to, labor standards.
(v) Each contract shall include provisions to
ensure the delivery of the estimated quantity of
renewable energy credits and ongoing collateral
requirements and other provisions deemed appropriate
by the Agency.
(vi) The utility shall be the counterparty to the
contracts executed under this subparagraph (L) that
are approved by the Commission under the process
described in Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities
Act. No contract shall be executed for an amount that

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is less than one renewable energy credit per year.
(vii) If, at any time, approved applications for
the Adjustable Block program exceed funds collected by
the electric utility or would cause the Agency to
exceed the limitation described in subparagraph (E) of
this paragraph (1) on the amount of renewable energy
resources that may be procured, then the Agency may
consider future uncommitted funds to be reserved for
these contracts on a first-come, first-served basis.
(viii) Nothing in this Section shall require the
utility to advance any payment or pay any amounts that
exceed the actual amount of revenues anticipated to be
collected by the utility under paragraph (6) of this
subsection (c) and subsection (k) of Section 16-108 of
the Public Utilities Act inclusive of eligible funds
collected in prior years and alternative compliance
payments for use by the utility, and contracts
executed under this Section shall expressly
incorporate this limitation.
(ix) Notwithstanding other requirements of this
subparagraph (L), no modification shall be required to
Adjustable Block program contracts if they were
already executed prior to the establishment, approval,
and implementation of new contract forms as a result
of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly.
(x) Contracts may be assignable, but only to

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entities first deemed by the Agency to have met
program terms and requirements applicable to direct
program participation. In developing contracts for the
delivery of renewable energy credits, the Agency shall
be permitted to establish fees applicable to each
contract assignment.
(M) The Agency shall be authorized to retain one or
more experts or expert consulting firms to develop,
administer, implement, operate, and evaluate the
Adjustable Block program described in subparagraph (K) of
this paragraph (1), and the Agency shall retain the
consultant or consultants in the same manner, to the
extent practicable, as the Agency retains others to
administer provisions of this Act, including, but not
limited to, the procurement administrator. The selection
of experts and expert consulting firms and the procurement
process described in this subparagraph (M) are exempt from
the requirements of Section 20-10 of the Illinois
Procurement Code, under Section 20-10 of that Code. The
Agency shall strive to minimize administrative expenses in
the implementation of the Adjustable Block program.
The Program Administrator may charge application fees
to participating firms to cover the cost of program
administration. Any application fee amounts shall
initially be determined through the long-term renewable
resources procurement plan, and modifications to any

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application fee that deviate more than 25% from the
Commission's approved value must be approved by the
Commission as a long-term plan revision under Section
16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act. The Agency shall
consider stakeholder feedback when making adjustments to
application fees and shall notify stakeholders in advance
of any planned changes.
In addition to covering the costs of program
administration, the Agency, in conjunction with its
Program Administrator, may also use the proceeds of such
fees charged to participating firms to support public
education and ongoing regional and national coordination
with nonprofit organizations, public bodies, and others
engaged in the implementation of renewable energy
incentive programs or similar initiatives. This work may
include developing papers and reports, hosting regional
and national conferences, and other work deemed necessary
by the Agency to position the State of Illinois as a
national leader in renewable energy incentive program
development and administration.
The Agency and its consultant or consultants shall
monitor block activity, share program activity with
stakeholders and conduct quarterly meetings to discuss
program activity and market conditions. If necessary, the
Agency may make prospective administrative adjustments to
the Adjustable Block program design, such as making

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adjustments to purchase prices as necessary to achieve the
goals of this subsection (c). Program modifications to any
block price that do not deviate from the Commission's
approved value by more than 10% shall take effect
immediately and are not subject to Commission review and
approval. Program modifications to any block price that
deviate more than 10% from the Commission's approved value
must be approved by the Commission as a long-term plan
amendment under Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities
Act. The Agency shall consider stakeholder feedback when
making adjustments to the Adjustable Block design and
shall notify stakeholders in advance of any planned
changes.
The Agency and its program administrators for both the
Adjustable Block program and the Illinois Solar for All
Program, consistent with the requirements of this
subsection (c) and subsection (b) of Section 1-56 of this
Act, shall propose the Adjustable Block program terms,
conditions, and requirements, including the prices to be
paid for renewable energy credits, where applicable, and
requirements applicable to participating entities and
project applications, through the development, review, and
approval of the Agency's long-term renewable resources
procurement plan described in this subsection (c) and
paragraph (5) of subsection (b) of Section 16-111.5 of the
Public Utilities Act. Terms, conditions, and requirements

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for program participation shall include the following:
(i) The Agency shall establish a registration
process for entities seeking to qualify for
program-administered incentive funding and establish
baseline qualifications for vendor approval. The
Agency must maintain a list of approved entities on
each program's website, and may revoke a vendor's
ability to receive program-administered incentive
funding status upon a determination that the vendor
failed to comply with contract terms, the law, or
other program requirements.
(ii) The Agency shall establish program
requirements and minimum contract terms to ensure
projects are properly installed and produce their
expected amounts of energy. Program requirements may
include on-site inspections and photo documentation of
projects under construction. The Agency may require
repairs, alterations, or additions to remedy any
material deficiencies discovered. Vendors who have a
disproportionately high number of deficient systems
may lose their eligibility to continue to receive
State-administered incentive funding through Agency
programs and procurements.
(iii) To discourage deceptive marketing or other
bad faith business practices, the Agency may require
direct program participants, including agents

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operating on their behalf, to provide standardized
disclosures to a customer prior to that customer's
execution of a contract for the development of a
distributed generation system or a subscription to a
community solar project.
(iv) The Agency shall establish one or multiple
Consumer Complaints Centers to accept complaints
regarding businesses that participate in, or otherwise
benefit from, State-administered incentive funding
through Agency-administered programs. The Agency shall
maintain a public database of complaints with any
confidential or particularly sensitive information
redacted from public entries.
(v) Through a filing in the proceeding for the
approval of its long-term renewable energy resources
procurement plan, the Agency shall provide an annual
written report to the Illinois Commerce Commission
documenting the frequency and nature of complaints and
any enforcement actions taken in response to those
complaints.
(vi) The Agency shall schedule regular meetings
with representatives of the Office of the Attorney
General, the Illinois Commerce Commission, consumer
protection groups, and other interested stakeholders
to share relevant information about consumer
protection, project compliance, and complaints

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received.
(vii) To the extent that complaints received
implicate the jurisdiction of the Office of the
Attorney General, the Illinois Commerce Commission, or
local, State, or federal law enforcement, the Agency
shall also refer complaints to those entities as
appropriate.
(N) The Agency shall establish the terms, conditions,
and program requirements for photovoltaic community
renewable generation projects with a goal to expand access
to a broader group of energy consumers, to ensure robust
participation opportunities for residential and small
commercial customers and those who cannot install
renewable energy on their own properties. Subject to
reasonable limitations, any plan approved by the
Commission shall allow subscriptions to community
renewable generation projects to be portable and
transferable. For purposes of this subparagraph (N),
"portable" means that subscriptions may be retained by the
subscriber even if the subscriber relocates or changes its
address within the same utility service territory; and
"transferable" means that a subscriber may assign or sell
subscriptions to another person within the same utility
service territory.
Through the development of its long-term renewable
resources procurement plan, the Agency may consider

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whether community renewable generation projects utilizing
technologies other than photovoltaics should be supported
through State-administered incentive funding, and may
issue requests for information to gauge market demand.
Electric utilities shall provide a monetary credit to
a subscriber's subsequent bill for service for the
proportional output of a community renewable generation
project attributable to that subscriber as specified in
Section 16-107.5 of the Public Utilities Act.
The Agency shall purchase renewable energy credits
from subscribed shares of photovoltaic community renewable
generation projects through the Adjustable Block program
described in subparagraph (K) of this paragraph (1) or
through the Illinois Solar for All Program described in
Section 1-56 of this Act. The electric utility shall
purchase any unsubscribed energy from community renewable
generation projects that are Qualifying Facilities ("QF")
under the electric utility's tariff for purchasing the
output from QFs under Public Utilities Regulatory Policies
Act of 1978.
The owners of and any subscribers to a community
renewable generation project shall not be considered
public utilities or alternative retail electricity
suppliers under the Public Utilities Act solely as a
result of their interest in or subscription to a community
renewable generation project and shall not be required to

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become an alternative retail electric supplier by
participating in a community renewable generation project
with a public utility.
(O) For the delivery year beginning June 1, 2018, the
long-term renewable resources procurement plan required by
this subsection (c) shall provide for the Agency to
procure contracts to continue offering the Illinois Solar
for All Program described in subsection (b) of Section
1-56 of this Act, and the contracts approved by the
Commission shall be executed by the utilities that are
subject to this subsection (c). The long-term renewable
resources procurement plan shall allocate up to
$50,000,000 per delivery year to fund the programs, and
the plan shall determine the amount of funding to be
apportioned to the programs identified in subsection (b)
of Section 1-56 of this Act; provided that for the
delivery years beginning June 1, 2021, June 1, 2022, and
June 1, 2023, the long-term renewable resources
procurement plan may average the annual budgets over a
3-year period to account for program ramp-up. For the
delivery years beginning June 1, 2021, June 1, 2024, June
1, 2027, and June 1, 2030 and additional $10,000,000 shall
be provided to the Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity to implement the workforce development
programs and reporting as outlined in Section 16-108.12 of
the Public Utilities Act. In making the determinations

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required under this subparagraph (O), the Commission shall
consider the experience and performance under the programs
and any evaluation reports. The Commission shall also
provide for an independent evaluation of those programs on
a periodic basis that are funded under this subparagraph
(O).
(P) All programs and procurements under this
subsection (c) shall be designed to encourage
participating projects to use a diverse and equitable
workforce and a diverse set of contractors, including
minority-owned businesses, disadvantaged businesses,
trade unions, graduates of any workforce training programs
administered under this Act, and small businesses.
The Agency shall develop a method to optimize
procurement of renewable energy credits from proposed
utility-scale projects that are located in communities
eligible to receive Energy Transition Community Grants
pursuant to Section 10-20 of the Energy Community
Reinvestment Act. If this requirement conflicts with other
provisions of law or the Agency determines that full
compliance with the requirements of this subparagraph (P)
would be unreasonably costly or administratively
impractical, the Agency is to propose alternative
approaches to achieve development of renewable energy
resources in communities eligible to receive Energy
Transition Community Grants pursuant to Section 10-20 of

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the Energy Community Reinvestment Act or seek an exemption
from this requirement from the Commission.
(Q) Each facility listed in subitems (i) through
(viii) of item (1) of this subparagraph (Q) for which a
renewable energy credit delivery contract is signed after
the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd
General Assembly is subject to the following requirements
through the Agency's long-term renewable resources
procurement plan:
(1) Each facility shall be subject to the
prevailing wage requirements included in the
Prevailing Wage Act. The Agency shall require
verification that all construction performed on the
facility by the renewable energy credit delivery
contract holder, its contractors, or its
subcontractors relating to construction of the
facility is performed by construction employees
receiving an amount for that work equal to or greater
than the general prevailing rate, as that term is
defined in Section 3 of the Prevailing Wage Act. For
purposes of this item (1), "house of worship" means
property that is both (1) used exclusively by a
religious society or body of persons as a place for
religious exercise or religious worship and (2)
recognized as exempt from taxation pursuant to Section
15-40 of the Property Tax Code. This item (1) shall

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apply to any the following:
(i) all new utility-scale wind projects;
(ii) all new utility-scale photovoltaic
projects;
(iii) all new brownfield photovoltaic
projects;
(iv) all new photovoltaic community renewable
energy facilities that qualify for item (iii) of
subparagraph (K) of this paragraph (1);
(v) all new community driven community
photovoltaic projects that qualify for item (v) of
subparagraph (K) of this paragraph (1);
(vi) all new photovoltaic distributed
renewable energy generation devices on schools
that qualify for item (iv) of subparagraph (K) of
this paragraph (1);
(vii) all new photovoltaic distributed
renewable energy generation devices that (1)
qualify for item (i) of subparagraph (K) of this
paragraph (1); (2) are not projects that serve
single-family or multi-family residential
buildings; and (3) are not houses of worship where
the aggregate capacity including collocated
projects would not exceed 100 kilowatts;
(viii) all new photovoltaic distributed
renewable energy generation devices that (1)

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qualify for item (ii) of subparagraph (K) of this
paragraph (1); (2) are not projects that serve
single-family or multi-family residential
buildings; and (3) are not houses of worship where
the aggregate capacity including collocated
projects would not exceed 100 kilowatts.
(2) Renewable energy credits procured from new
utility-scale wind projects, new utility-scale solar
projects, and new brownfield solar projects pursuant
to Agency procurement events occurring after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd
General Assembly must be from facilities built by
general contractors that must enter into a project
labor agreement, as defined by this Act, prior to
construction. The project labor agreement shall be
filed with the Director in accordance with procedures
established by the Agency through its long-term
renewable resources procurement plan. Any information
submitted to the Agency in this item (2) shall be
considered commercially sensitive information. At a
minimum, the project labor agreement must provide the
names, addresses, and occupations of the owner of the
plant and the individuals representing the labor
organization employees participating in the project
labor agreement consistent with the Project Labor
Agreements Act. The agreement must also specify the

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terms and conditions as defined by this Act.
(3) It is the intent of this Section to ensure that
economic development occurs across Illinois
communities, that emerging businesses may grow, and
that there is improved access to the clean energy
economy by persons who have greater economic burdens
to success. The Agency shall take into consideration
the unique cost of compliance of this subparagraph (Q)
that might be borne by equity eligible contractors,
shall include such costs when determining the price of
renewable energy credits in the Adjustable Block
program, and shall take such costs into consideration
in a nondiscriminatory manner when comparing bids for
competitive procurements. The Agency shall consider
costs associated with compliance whether in the
development, financing, or construction of projects.
The Agency shall periodically review the assumptions
in these costs and may adjust prices, in compliance
with subparagraph (M) of this paragraph (1).
(R) In its long-term renewable resources procurement
plan, the Agency shall establish a self-direct renewable
portfolio standard compliance program for eligible
self-direct customers that purchase renewable energy
credits from utility-scale wind and solar projects through
long-term agreements for purchase of renewable energy
credits as described in this Section. Such long-term

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agreements may include the purchase of energy or other
products on a physical or financial basis and may involve
an alternative retail electric supplier as defined in
Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities Act. This program
shall take effect in the delivery year commencing June 1,
2023.
(1) For the purposes of this subparagraph:
"Eligible self-direct customer" means any retail
customers of an electric utility that serves 3,000,000
or more retail customers in the State and whose total
highest 30-minute demand was more than 10,000
kilowatts, or any retail customers of an electric
utility that serves less than 3,000,000 retail
customers but more than 500,000 retail customers in
the State and whose total highest 15-minute demand was
more than 10,000 kilowatts.
"Retail customer" has the meaning set forth in
Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities Act and
multiple retail customer accounts under the same
corporate parent may aggregate their account demands
to meet the 10,000 kilowatt threshold. The criteria
for determining whether this subparagraph is
applicable to a retail customer shall be based on the
12 consecutive billing periods prior to the start of
the year in which the application is filed.
(2) For renewable energy credits to count toward

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the self-direct renewable portfolio standard
compliance program, they must:
(i) qualify as renewable energy credits as
defined in Section 1-10 of this Act;
(ii) be sourced from one or more renewable
energy generating facilities that comply with the
geographic requirements as set forth in
subparagraph (I) of paragraph (1) of subsection
(c) as interpreted through the Agency's long-term
renewable resources procurement plan, or, where
applicable, the geographic requirements that
governed utility-scale renewable energy credits at
the time the eligible self-direct customer entered
into the applicable renewable energy credit
purchase agreement;
(iii) be procured through long-term contracts
with term lengths of at least 10 years either
directly with the renewable energy generating
facility or through a bundled power purchase
agreement, a virtual power purchase agreement, an
agreement between the renewable generating
facility, an alternative retail electric supplier,
and the customer, or such other structure as is
permissible under this subparagraph (R);
(iv) be equivalent in volume to at least 40%
of the eligible self-direct customer's usage,

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determined annually by the eligible self-direct
customer's usage during the previous delivery
year, measured to the nearest megawatt-hour;
(v) be retired by or on behalf of the large
energy customer;
(vi) be sourced from new utility-scale wind
projects or new utility-scale solar projects; and
(vii) if the contracts for renewable energy
credits are entered into after the effective date
of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General
Assembly, the new utility-scale wind projects or
new utility-scale solar projects must comply with
the requirements established in subparagraphs (P)
and (Q) of paragraph (1) of this subsection (c)
and subsection (c-10).
(3) The self-direct renewable portfolio standard
compliance program shall be designed to allow eligible
self-direct customers to procure new renewable energy
credits from new utility-scale wind projects or new
utility-scale photovoltaic projects. The Agency shall
annually determine the amount of utility-scale
renewable energy credits it will include each year
from the self-direct renewable portfolio standard
compliance program, subject to receiving qualifying
applications. In making this determination, the Agency
shall evaluate publicly available analyses and studies

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of the potential market size for utility-scale
renewable energy long-term purchase agreements by
commercial and industrial energy customers and make
that report publicly available. If demand for
participation in the self-direct renewable portfolio
standard compliance program exceeds availability, the
Agency shall ensure participation is evenly split
between commercial and industrial users to the extent
there is sufficient demand from both customer classes.
Each renewable energy credit procured pursuant to this
subparagraph (R) by a self-direct customer shall
reduce the total volume of renewable energy credits
the Agency is otherwise required to procure from new
utility-scale projects pursuant to subparagraph (C) of
paragraph (1) of this subsection (c) on behalf of
contracting utilities where the eligible self-direct
customer is located. The self-direct customer shall
file an annual compliance report with the Agency
pursuant to terms established by the Agency through
its long-term renewable resources procurement plan to
be eligible for participation in this program.
Customers must provide the Agency with their most
recent electricity billing statements or other
information deemed necessary by the Agency to
demonstrate they are an eligible self-direct customer.
(4) The Commission shall approve a reduction in

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the volumetric charges collected pursuant to Section
16-108 of the Public Utilities Act for approved
eligible self-direct customers equivalent to the
anticipated cost of renewable energy credit deliveries
under contracts for new utility-scale wind and new
utility-scale solar entered for each delivery year
after the large energy customer retires begins
retiring eligible new utility scale renewable energy
credits for self-compliance. The self-direct credit
amount for each renewable energy credit supplied shall
be determined annually and is equal to the lower of the
volumetric charge collected pursuant to Section 16-108
of the Public Utilities Act as calculated under
subparagraph (E) of paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of
this Section to support the renewable portfolio or the
average price paid per renewable energy credit divided
by 1,000 for all utility-scale renewable energy
credits procured by the Agency pursuant to this
Section after June 1, 2017, including indexed
renewable energy credits and estimated portion of the
cost authorized by subparagraph (E) of paragraph (1)
of this subsection (c) that supported the annual
procurement of utility-scale renewable energy credits
in the prior delivery year using a methodology
described in the long-term renewable resources
procurement plan, expressed on a per kilowatthour

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basis, and does not include (i) costs associated with
any contracts entered into before the delivery year in
which the customer files the initial compliance report
to be eligible for participation in the self-direct
program, and (ii) costs associated with procuring
renewable energy credits through existing and future
contracts through the Adjustable Block Program,
subsection (c-5) of this Section 1-75, and the Solar
for All Program. The Agency shall assist the
Commission in determining the current and future
costs. The Agency must determine the self-direct
credit amount for new and existing eligible
self-direct customers and submit this to the
Commission in an annual compliance filing. The
Commission must approve the self-direct credit amount
by June 1, 2023 and June 1 of each delivery year
thereafter. The approved self-direct credit amount
shall be multiplied by each renewable energy credit
procured by participating self-direct customers to
form the customer's utility bill credit amount.
(5) Customers described in this subparagraph (R)
shall apply, on a form developed by the Agency, to the
Agency to be designated as a self-direct eligible
customer. Once the Agency determines that a
self-direct customer is eligible for participation in
the program, the self-direct customer will remain

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eligible until the end of the term of the contract.
Thereafter, application may be made not less than 12
months before the filing date of the long-term
renewable resources procurement plan described in this
Act. At a minimum, such application shall contain the
following:
(i) the customer's certification that, at the
time of the customer's application, the customer
qualifies to be a self-direct eligible customer,
including documents demonstrating that
qualification;
(ii) the customer's certification that the
customer has entered into or will enter into by
the beginning of the applicable procurement year,
one or more bilateral contracts for new wind
projects or new photovoltaic projects, including
supporting documentation;
(iii) certification that the contract or
contracts for new renewable energy resources are
long-term contracts with term lengths of at least
10 years, including supporting documentation;
(iv) certification of the quantities of
renewable energy credits that the customer will
purchase each year under such contract or
contracts, including supporting documentation;
(v) proof that the contract is sufficient to

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produce renewable energy credits to be equivalent
in volume to at least 40% of the large energy
customer's usage from the previous delivery year,
measured to the nearest megawatt-hour; and
(vi) certification that the customer intends
to maintain the contract for the duration of the
length of the contract.
(6) If a customer receives the self-direct credit
but fails to properly procure and retire renewable
energy credits as required under this subparagraph
(R), the Commission, on petition from the Agency and
after notice and hearing, may direct such customer's
utility to recover the cost of the wrongfully received
self-direct credits plus interest through an adder to
charges assessed pursuant to Section 16-108 of the
Public Utilities Act. Self-direct customers who
knowingly fail to properly procure and retire
renewable energy credits and do not notify the Agency
are ineligible for continued participation in the
self-direct renewable portfolio standard compliance
program.
(2) (Blank).
(3) (Blank).
(4) The electric utility shall retire all renewable
energy credits used to comply with the standard.
(5) Beginning with the 2010 delivery year and ending

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June 1, 2017, an electric utility subject to this
subsection (c) shall apply the lesser of the maximum
alternative compliance payment rate or the most recent
estimated alternative compliance payment rate for its
service territory for the corresponding compliance period,
established pursuant to subsection (d) of Section 16-115D
of the Public Utilities Act to its retail customers that
take service pursuant to the electric utility's hourly
pricing tariff or tariffs. The electric utility shall
retain all amounts collected as a result of the
application of the alternative compliance payment rate or
rates to such customers, and, beginning in 2011, the
utility shall include in the information provided under
item (1) of subsection (d) of Section 16-111.5 of the
Public Utilities Act the amounts collected under the
alternative compliance payment rate or rates for the prior
year ending May 31. Notwithstanding any limitation on the
procurement of renewable energy resources imposed by item
(2) of this subsection (c), the Agency shall increase its
spending on the purchase of renewable energy resources to
be procured by the electric utility for the next plan year
by an amount equal to the amounts collected by the utility
under the alternative compliance payment rate or rates in
the prior year ending May 31.
(6) The electric utility shall be entitled to recover
all of its costs associated with the procurement of

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renewable energy credits under plans approved under this
Section and Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act.
These costs shall include associated reasonable expenses
for implementing the procurement programs, including, but
not limited to, the costs of administering and evaluating
the Adjustable Block program, through an automatic
adjustment clause tariff in accordance with subsection (k)
of Section 16-108 of the Public Utilities Act.
(7) Renewable energy credits procured from new
photovoltaic projects or new distributed renewable energy
generation devices under this Section after June 1, 2017
(the effective date of Public Act 99-906) must be procured
from devices installed by a qualified person in compliance
with the requirements of Section 16-128A of the Public
Utilities Act and any rules or regulations adopted
thereunder.
In meeting the renewable energy requirements of this
subsection (c), to the extent feasible and consistent with
State and federal law, the renewable energy credit
procurements, Adjustable Block solar program, and
community renewable generation program shall provide
employment opportunities for all segments of the
population and workforce, including minority-owned and
female-owned business enterprises, and shall not,
consistent with State and federal law, discriminate based
on race or socioeconomic status.

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(c-5) Procurement of renewable energy credits from new
renewable energy facilities installed at or adjacent to the
sites of electric generating facilities that burn or burned
coal as their primary fuel source.
(1) In addition to the procurement of renewable energy
credits pursuant to long-term renewable resources
procurement plans in accordance with subsection (c) of
this Section and Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities
Act, the Agency shall conduct procurement events in
accordance with this subsection (c-5) for the procurement
by electric utilities that served more than 300,000 retail
customers in this State as of January 1, 2019 of renewable
energy credits from new renewable energy facilities to be
installed at or adjacent to the sites of electric
generating facilities that, as of January 1, 2016, burned
coal as their primary fuel source and meet the other
criteria specified in this subsection (c-5). For purposes
of this subsection (c-5), "new renewable energy facility"
means a new utility-scale solar project as defined in this
Section 1-75. The renewable energy credits procured
pursuant to this subsection (c-5) may be included or
counted for purposes of compliance with the amounts of
renewable energy credits required to be procured pursuant
to subsection (c) of this Section to the extent that there
are otherwise shortfalls in compliance with such
requirements. The procurement of renewable energy credits

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by electric utilities pursuant to this subsection (c-5)
shall be funded solely by revenues collected from the Coal
to Solar and Energy Storage Initiative Charge provided for
in this subsection (c-5) and subsection (i-5) of Section
16-108 of the Public Utilities Act, shall not be funded by
revenues collected through any of the other funding
mechanisms provided for in subsection (c) of this Section,
and shall not be subject to the limitation imposed by
subsection (c) on charges to retail customers for costs to
procure renewable energy resources pursuant to subsection
(c), and shall not be subject to any other requirements or
limitations of subsection (c).
(2) The Agency shall conduct 2 procurement events to
select owners of electric generating facilities meeting
the eligibility criteria specified in this subsection
(c-5) to enter into long-term contracts to sell renewable
energy credits to electric utilities serving more than
300,000 retail customers in this State as of January 1,
2019. The first procurement event shall be conducted no
later than March 31, 2022, unless the Agency elects to
delay it, until no later than May 1, 2022, due to its
overall volume of work, and shall be to select owners of
electric generating facilities located in this State and
south of federal Interstate Highway 80 that meet the
eligibility criteria specified in this subsection (c-5).
The second procurement event shall be conducted no sooner

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than September 30, 2022 and no later than October 31, 2022
and shall be to select owners of electric generating
facilities located anywhere in this State that meet the
eligibility criteria specified in this subsection (c-5).
The Agency shall establish and announce a time period,
which shall begin no later than 30 days prior to the
scheduled date for the procurement event, during which
applicants may submit applications to be selected as
suppliers of renewable energy credits pursuant to this
subsection (c-5). The eligibility criteria for selection
as a supplier of renewable energy credits pursuant to this
subsection (c-5) shall be as follows:
(A) The applicant owns an electric generating
facility located in this State that: (i) as of January
1, 2016, burned coal as its primary fuel to generate
electricity; and (ii) has, or had prior to retirement,
an electric generating capacity of at least 150
megawatts. The electric generating facility can be
either: (i) retired as of the date of the procurement
event; or (ii) still operating as of the date of the
procurement event.
(B) The applicant is not (i) an electric
cooperative as defined in Section 3-119 of the Public
Utilities Act, or (ii) an entity described in
subsection (b)(1) of Section 3-105 of the Public
Utilities Act, or an association or consortium of or

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an entity owned by entities described in (i) or (ii);
and the coal-fueled electric generating facility was
at one time owned, in whole or in part, by a public
utility as defined in Section 3-105 of the Public
Utilities Act.
(C) If participating in the first procurement
event, the applicant proposes and commits to construct
and operate, at the site, and if necessary for
sufficient space on property adjacent to the existing
property, at which the electric generating facility
identified in paragraph (A) is located: (i) a new
renewable energy facility of at least 20 megawatts but
no more than 100 megawatts of electric generating
capacity, and (ii) an energy storage facility having a
storage capacity equal to at least 2 megawatts and at
most 10 megawatts. If participating in the second
procurement event, the applicant proposes and commits
to construct and operate, at the site, and if
necessary for sufficient space on property adjacent to
the existing property, at which the electric
generating facility identified in paragraph (A) is
located: (i) a new renewable energy facility of at
least 5 megawatts but no more than 20 megawatts of
electric generating capacity, and (ii) an energy
storage facility having a storage capacity equal to at
least 0.5 megawatts and at most one megawatt.

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(D) The applicant agrees that the new renewable
energy facility and the energy storage facility will
be constructed or installed by a qualified entity or
entities in compliance with the requirements of
subsection (g) of Section 16-128A of the Public
Utilities Act and any rules adopted thereunder.
(E) The applicant agrees that personnel operating
the new renewable energy facility and the energy
storage facility will have the requisite skills,
knowledge, training, experience, and competence, which
may be demonstrated by completion or current
participation and ultimate completion by employees of
an accredited or otherwise recognized apprenticeship
program for the employee's particular craft, trade, or
skill, including through training and education
courses and opportunities offered by the owner to
employees of the coal-fueled electric generating
facility or by previous employment experience
performing the employee's particular work skill or
function.
(F) The applicant commits that not less than the
prevailing wage, as determined pursuant to the
Prevailing Wage Act, will be paid to the applicant's
employees engaged in construction activities
associated with the new renewable energy facility and
the new energy storage facility and to the employees

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of applicant's contractors engaged in construction
activities associated with the new renewable energy
facility and the new energy storage facility, and
that, on or before the commercial operation date of
the new renewable energy facility, the applicant shall
file a report with the Agency certifying that the
requirements of this subparagraph (F) have been met.
(G) The applicant commits that if selected, it
will negotiate a project labor agreement for the
construction of the new renewable energy facility and
associated energy storage facility that includes
provisions requiring the parties to the agreement to
work together to establish diversity threshold
requirements and to ensure best efforts to meet
diversity targets, improve diversity at the applicable
job site, create diverse apprenticeship opportunities,
and create opportunities to employ former coal-fired
power plant workers.
(H) The applicant commits to enter into a contract
or contracts for the applicable duration to provide
specified numbers of renewable energy credits each
year from the new renewable energy facility to
electric utilities that served more than 300,000
retail customers in this State as of January 1, 2019,
at a price of $30 per renewable energy credit. The
price per renewable energy credit shall be fixed at

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$30 for the applicable duration and the renewable
energy credits shall not be indexed renewable energy
credits as provided for in item (v) of subparagraph
(G) of paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of Section 1-75
of this Act. The applicable duration of each contract
shall be 20 years, unless the applicant is physically
interconnected to the PJM Interconnection, LLC
transmission grid and had a generating capacity of at
least 1,200 megawatts as of January 1, 2021, in which
case the applicable duration of the contract shall be
15 years.
(I) The applicant's application is certified by an
officer of the applicant and by an officer of the
applicant's ultimate parent company, if any.
(3) An applicant may submit applications to contract
to supply renewable energy credits from more than one new
renewable energy facility to be constructed at or adjacent
to one or more qualifying electric generating facilities
owned by the applicant. The Agency may select new
renewable energy facilities to be located at or adjacent
to the sites of more than one qualifying electric
generation facility owned by an applicant to contract with
electric utilities to supply renewable energy credits from
such facilities.
(4) The Agency shall assess fees to each applicant to
recover the Agency's costs incurred in receiving and

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evaluating applications, conducting the procurement event,
developing contracts for sale, delivery and purchase of
renewable energy credits, and monitoring the
administration of such contracts, as provided for in this
subsection (c-5), including fees paid to a procurement
administrator retained by the Agency for one or more of
these purposes.
(5) The Agency shall select the applicants and the new
renewable energy facilities to contract with electric
utilities to supply renewable energy credits in accordance
with this subsection (c-5). In the first procurement
event, the Agency shall select applicants and new
renewable energy facilities to supply renewable energy
credits, at a price of $30 per renewable energy credit,
aggregating to no less than 400,000 renewable energy
credits per year for the applicable duration, assuming
sufficient qualifying applications to supply, in the
aggregate, at least that amount of renewable energy
credits per year; and not more than 580,000 renewable
energy credits per year for the applicable duration. In
the second procurement event, the Agency shall select
applicants and new renewable energy facilities to supply
renewable energy credits, at a price of $30 per renewable
energy credit, aggregating to no more than 625,000
renewable energy credits per year less the amount of
renewable energy credits each year contracted for as a

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result of the first procurement event, for the applicable
durations. The number of renewable energy credits to be
procured as specified in this paragraph (5) shall not be
reduced based on renewable energy credits procured in the
self-direct renewable energy credit compliance program
established pursuant to subparagraph (R) of paragraph (1)
of subsection (c) of Section 1-75.
(6) The obligation to purchase renewable energy
credits from the applicants and their new renewable energy
facilities selected by the Agency shall be allocated to
the electric utilities based on their respective
percentages of kilowatthours delivered to delivery
services customers to the aggregate kilowatthour
deliveries by the electric utilities to delivery services
customers for the year ended December 31, 2021. In order
to achieve these allocation percentages between or among
the electric utilities, the Agency shall require each
applicant that is selected in the procurement event to
enter into a contract with each electric utility for the
sale and purchase of renewable energy credits from each
new renewable energy facility to be constructed and
operated by the applicant, with the sale and purchase
obligations under the contracts to aggregate to the total
number of renewable energy credits per year to be supplied
by the applicant from the new renewable energy facility.
(7) The Agency shall submit its proposed selection of

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applicants, new renewable energy facilities to be
constructed, and renewable energy credit amounts for each
procurement event to the Commission for approval. The
Commission shall, within 2 business days after receipt of
the Agency's proposed selections, approve the proposed
selections if it determines that the applicants and the
new renewable energy facilities to be constructed meet the
selection criteria set forth in this subsection (c-5) and
that the Agency seeks approval for contracts of applicable
durations aggregating to no more than the maximum amount
of renewable energy credits per year authorized by this
subsection (c-5) for the procurement event, at a price of
$30 per renewable energy credit.
(8) The Agency, in conjunction with its procurement
administrator if one is retained, the electric utilities,
and potential applicants for contracts to produce and
supply renewable energy credits pursuant to this
subsection (c-5), shall develop a standard form contract
for the sale, delivery and purchase of renewable energy
credits pursuant to this subsection (c-5). Each contract
resulting from the first procurement event shall allow for
a commercial operation date for the new renewable energy
facility of either June 1, 2023 or June 1, 2024, with such
dates subject to adjustment as provided in this paragraph.
Each contract resulting from the second procurement event
shall provide for a commercial operation date on June 1

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next occurring up to 48 months after execution of the
contract. Each contract shall provide that the owner shall
receive payments for renewable energy credits for the
applicable durations beginning with the commercial
operation date of the new renewable energy facility. The
form contract shall provide for adjustments to the
commercial operation and payment start dates as needed due
to any delays in completing the procurement and
contracting processes, in finalizing interconnection
agreements and installing interconnection facilities, and
in obtaining other necessary governmental permits and
approvals. The form contract shall be, to the maximum
extent possible, consistent with standard electric
industry contracts for sale, delivery, and purchase of
renewable energy credits while taking into account the
specific requirements of this subsection (c-5). The form
contract shall provide for over-delivery and
under-delivery of renewable energy credits within
reasonable ranges during each 12-month period and penalty,
default, and enforcement provisions for failure of the
selling party to deliver renewable energy credits as
specified in the contract and to comply with the
requirements of this subsection (c-5). The standard form
contract shall specify that all renewable energy credits
delivered to the electric utility pursuant to the contract
shall be retired. The Agency shall make the proposed

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contracts available for a reasonable period for comment by
potential applicants, and shall publish the final form
contract at least 30 days before the date of the first
procurement event.
(9) Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Initiative
Charge.
(A) By no later than July 1, 2022, each electric
utility that served more than 300,000 retail customers
in this State as of January 1, 2019 shall file a tariff
with the Commission for the billing and collection of
a Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Initiative Charge
in accordance with subsection (i-5) of Section 16-108
of the Public Utilities Act, with such tariff to be
effective, following review and approval or
modification by the Commission, beginning January 1,
2023. The tariff shall provide for the calculation and
setting of the electric utility's Coal to Solar and
Energy Storage Initiative Charge to collect revenues
estimated to be sufficient, in the aggregate, (i) to
enable the electric utility to pay for the renewable
energy credits it has contracted to purchase in the
delivery year beginning June 1, 2023 and each delivery
year thereafter from new renewable energy facilities
located at the sites of qualifying electric generating
facilities, and (ii) to fund the grant payments to be
made in each delivery year by the Department of

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Commerce and Economic Opportunity, or any successor
department or agency, which shall be referred to in
this subsection (c-5) as the Department, pursuant to
paragraph (10) of this subsection (c-5). The electric
utility's tariff shall provide for the billing and
collection of the Coal to Solar and Energy Storage
Initiative Charge on each kilowatthour of electricity
delivered to its delivery services customers within
its service territory and shall provide for an annual
reconciliation of revenues collected with actual
costs, in accordance with subsection (i-5) of Section
16-108 of the Public Utilities Act.
(B) Each electric utility shall remit on a monthly
basis to the State Treasurer, for deposit in the Coal
to Solar and Energy Storage Initiative Fund provided
for in this subsection (c-5), the electric utility's
collections of the Coal to Solar and Energy Storage
Initiative Charge in the amount estimated to be needed
by the Department for grant payments pursuant to grant
contracts entered into by the Department pursuant to
paragraph (10) of this subsection (c-5).
(10) Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Initiative Fund.
(A) The Coal to Solar and Energy Storage
Initiative Fund is established as a special fund in
the State treasury. The Coal to Solar and Energy
Storage Initiative Fund is authorized to receive, by

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statutory deposit, that portion specified in item (B)
of paragraph (9) of this subsection (c-5) of moneys
collected by electric utilities through imposition of
the Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Initiative Charge
required by this subsection (c-5). The Coal to Solar
and Energy Storage Initiative Fund shall be
administered by the Department to provide grants to
support the installation and operation of energy
storage facilities at the sites of qualifying electric
generating facilities meeting the criteria specified
in this paragraph (10).
(B) The Coal to Solar and Energy Storage
Initiative Fund shall not be subject to sweeps,
administrative charges, or chargebacks, including, but
not limited to, those authorized under Section 8h of
the State Finance Act, that would in any way result in
the transfer of those funds from the Coal to Solar and
Energy Storage Initiative Fund to any other fund of
this State or in having any such funds utilized for any
purpose other than the express purposes set forth in
this paragraph (10).
(C) The Department shall utilize up to
$280,500,000 in the Coal to Solar and Energy Storage
Initiative Fund for grants, assuming sufficient
qualifying applicants, to support installation of
energy storage facilities at the sites of up to 3

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qualifying electric generating facilities located in
the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc.,
region in Illinois and the sites of up to 2 qualifying
electric generating facilities located in the PJM
Interconnection, LLC region in Illinois that meet the
criteria set forth in this subparagraph (C). The
criteria for receipt of a grant pursuant to this
subparagraph (C) are as follows:
(1) the electric generating facility at the
site has, or had prior to retirement, an electric
generating capacity of at least 150 megawatts;
(2) the electric generating facility burns (or
burned prior to retirement) coal as its primary
source of fuel;
(3) if the electric generating facility is
retired, it was retired subsequent to January 1,
2016;
(4) the owner of the electric generating
facility has not been selected by the Agency
pursuant to this subsection (c-5) of this Section
to enter into a contract to sell renewable energy
credits to one or more electric utilities from a
new renewable energy facility located or to be
located at or adjacent to the site at which the
electric generating facility is located;
(5) the electric generating facility located

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at the site was at one time owned, in whole or in
part, by a public utility as defined in Section
3-105 of the Public Utilities Act;
(6) the electric generating facility at the
site is not owned by (i) an electric cooperative
as defined in Section 3-119 of the Public
Utilities Act, or (ii) an entity described in
subsection (b)(1) of Section 3-105 of the Public
Utilities Act, or an association or consortium of
or an entity owned by entities described in items
(i) or (ii);
(7) the proposed energy storage facility at
the site will have energy storage capacity of at
least 37 megawatts;
(8) the owner commits to place the energy
storage facility into commercial operation on
either June 1, 2023, June 1, 2024, or June 1, 2025,
with such date subject to adjustment as needed due
to any delays in completing the grant contracting
process, in finalizing interconnection agreements
and in installing interconnection facilities, and
in obtaining necessary governmental permits and
approvals;
(9) the owner agrees that the new energy
storage facility will be constructed or installed
by a qualified entity or entities consistent with

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the requirements of subsection (g) of Section
16-128A of the Public Utilities Act and any rules
adopted under that Section;
(10) the owner agrees that personnel operating
the energy storage facility will have the
requisite skills, knowledge, training, experience,
and competence, which may be demonstrated by
completion or current participation and ultimate
completion by employees of an accredited or
otherwise recognized apprenticeship program for
the employee's particular craft, trade, or skill,
including through training and education courses
and opportunities offered by the owner to
employees of the coal-fueled electric generating
facility or by previous employment experience
performing the employee's particular work skill or
function;
(11) the owner commits that not less than the
prevailing wage, as determined pursuant to the
Prevailing Wage Act, will be paid to the owner's
employees engaged in construction activities
associated with the new energy storage facility
and to the employees of the owner's contractors
engaged in construction activities associated with
the new energy storage facility, and that, on or
before the commercial operation date of the new

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energy storage facility, the owner shall file a
report with the Department certifying that the
requirements of this subparagraph (11) have been
met; and
(12) the owner commits that if selected to
receive a grant, it will negotiate a project labor
agreement for the construction of the new energy
storage facility that includes provisions
requiring the parties to the agreement to work
together to establish diversity threshold
requirements and to ensure best efforts to meet
diversity targets, improve diversity at the
applicable job site, create diverse apprenticeship
opportunities, and create opportunities to employ
former coal-fired power plant workers.
The Department shall accept applications for this
grant program until March 31, 2022 and shall announce
the award of grants no later than June 1, 2022. The
Department shall make the grant payments to a
recipient in equal annual amounts for 10 years
following the date the energy storage facility is
placed into commercial operation. The annual grant
payments to a qualifying energy storage facility shall
be $110,000 per megawatt of energy storage capacity,
with total annual grant payments pursuant to this
subparagraph (C) for qualifying energy storage

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facilities not to exceed $28,050,000 in any year.
(D) Grants of funding for energy storage
facilities pursuant to subparagraph (C) of this
paragraph (10), from the Coal to Solar and Energy
Storage Initiative Fund, shall be memorialized in
grant contracts between the Department and the
recipient. The grant contracts shall specify the date
or dates in each year on which the annual grant
payments shall be paid.
(E) All disbursements from the Coal to Solar and
Energy Storage Initiative Fund shall be made only upon
warrants of the Comptroller drawn upon the Treasurer
as custodian of the Fund upon vouchers signed by the
Director of the Department or by the person or persons
designated by the Director of the Department for that
purpose. The Comptroller is authorized to draw the
warrants upon vouchers so signed. The Treasurer shall
accept all written warrants so signed and shall be
released from liability for all payments made on those
warrants.
(11) Diversity, equity, and inclusion plans.
(A) Each applicant selected in a procurement event
to contract to supply renewable energy credits in
accordance with this subsection (c-5) and each owner
selected by the Department to receive a grant or
grants to support the construction and operation of a

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new energy storage facility or facilities in
accordance with this subsection (c-5) shall, within 60
days following the Commission's approval of the
applicant to contract to supply renewable energy
credits or within 60 days following execution of a
grant contract with the Department, as applicable,
submit to the Commission a diversity, equity, and
inclusion plan setting forth the applicant's or
owner's numeric goals for the diversity composition of
its supplier entities for the new renewable energy
facility or new energy storage facility, as
applicable, which shall be referred to for purposes of
this paragraph (11) as the project, and the
applicant's or owner's action plan and schedule for
achieving those goals.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph (11), diversity
composition shall be based on the percentage, which
shall be a minimum of 25%, of eligible expenditures
for contract awards for materials and services (which
shall be defined in the plan) to business enterprises
owned by minority persons, women, or persons with
disabilities as defined in Section 2 of the Business
Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with
Disabilities Act, to LGBTQ business enterprises, to
veteran-owned business enterprises, and to business
enterprises located in environmental justice

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communities. The diversity composition goals of the
plan may include eligible expenditures in areas for
vendor or supplier opportunities in addition to
development and construction of the project, and may
exclude from eligible expenditures materials and
services with limited market availability, limited
production and availability from suppliers in the
United States, such as solar panels and storage
batteries, and material and services that are subject
to critical energy infrastructure or cybersecurity
requirements or restrictions. The plan may provide
that the diversity composition goals may be met
through Tier 1 Direct or Tier 2 subcontracting
expenditures or a combination thereof for the project.
(C) The plan shall provide for, but not be limited
to: (i) internal initiatives, including multi-tier
initiatives, by the applicant or owner, or by its
engineering, procurement and construction contractor
if one is used for the project, which for purposes of
this paragraph (11) shall be referred to as the EPC
contractor, to enable diverse businesses to be
considered fairly for selection to provide materials
and services; (ii) requirements for the applicant or
owner or its EPC contractor to proactively solicit and
utilize diverse businesses to provide materials and
services; and (iii) requirements for the applicant or

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owner or its EPC contractor to hire a diverse
workforce for the project. The plan shall include a
description of the applicant's or owner's diversity
recruiting efforts both for the project and for other
areas of the applicant's or owner's business
operations. The plan shall provide for the imposition
of financial penalties on the applicant's or owner's
EPC contractor for failure to exercise best efforts to
comply with and execute the EPC contractor's diversity
obligations under the plan. The plan may provide for
the applicant or owner to set aside a portion of the
work on the project to serve as an incubation program
for qualified businesses, as specified in the plan,
owned by minority persons, women, persons with
disabilities, LGBTQ persons, and veterans, and
businesses located in environmental justice
communities, seeking to enter the renewable energy
industry.
(D) The applicant or owner may submit a revised or
updated plan to the Commission from time to time as
circumstances warrant. The applicant or owner shall
file annual reports with the Commission detailing the
applicant's or owner's progress in implementing its
plan and achieving its goals and any modifications the
applicant or owner has made to its plan to better
achieve its diversity, equity and inclusion goals. The

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applicant or owner shall file a final report on the
fifth June 1 following the commercial operation date
of the new renewable energy resource or new energy
storage facility, but the applicant or owner shall
thereafter continue to be subject to applicable
reporting requirements of Section 5-117 of the Public
Utilities Act.
(c-10) Equity accountability system. It is the purpose of
this subsection (c-10) to create an equity accountability
system, which includes the minimum equity standards for all
renewable energy procurements, the equity category of the
Adjustable Block Program, and the equity prioritization for
noncompetitive procurements, that is successful in advancing
priority access to the clean energy economy for businesses and
workers from communities that have been excluded from economic
opportunities in the energy sector, have been subject to
disproportionate levels of pollution, and have
disproportionately experienced negative public health
outcomes. Further, it is the purpose of this subsection to
ensure that this equity accountability system is successful in
advancing equity across Illinois by providing access to the
clean energy economy for businesses and workers from
communities that have been historically excluded from economic
opportunities in the energy sector, have been subject to
disproportionate levels of pollution, and have
disproportionately experienced negative public health

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outcomes.
(1) Minimum equity standards. The Agency shall create
programs with the purpose of increasing access to and
development of equity eligible contractors, who are prime
contractors and subcontractors, across all of the programs
it manages. All applications for renewable energy credit
procurements shall comply with specific minimum equity
commitments. Starting in the delivery year immediately
following the next long-term renewable resources
procurement plan, at least 10% of the project workforce
for each entity participating in a procurement program
outlined in this subsection (c-10) must be done by equity
eligible persons or equity eligible contractors. The
Agency shall increase the minimum percentage each delivery
year thereafter by increments that ensure a statewide
average of 30% of the project workforce for each entity
participating in a procurement program is done by equity
eligible persons or equity eligible contractors by 2030.
The Agency shall propose a schedule of percentage
increases to the minimum equity standards in its draft
revised renewable energy resources procurement plan
submitted to the Commission for approval pursuant to
paragraph (5) of subsection (b) of Section 16-111.5 of the
Public Utilities Act. In determining these annual
increases, the Agency shall have the discretion to
establish different minimum equity standards for different

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types of procurements and different regions of the State
if the Agency finds that doing so will further the
purposes of this subsection (c-10). The proposed schedule
of annual increases shall be revisited and updated on an
annual basis. Revisions shall be developed with
stakeholder input, including from equity eligible persons,
equity eligible contractors, clean energy industry
representatives, and community-based organizations that
work with such persons and contractors.
(A) At the start of each delivery year, the Agency
shall require a compliance plan from each entity
participating in a procurement program of subsection
(c) of this Section that demonstrates how they will
achieve compliance with the minimum equity standard
percentage for work completed in that delivery year.
If an entity applies for its approved vendor or
designee status between delivery years, the Agency
shall require a compliance plan at the time of
application.
(B) Halfway through each delivery year, the Agency
shall require each entity participating in a
procurement program to confirm that it will achieve
compliance in that delivery year, when applicable. The
Agency may offer corrective action plans to entities
that are not on track to achieve compliance.
(C) At the end of each delivery year, each entity

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participating and completing work in that delivery
year in a procurement program of subsection (c) shall
submit a report to the Agency that demonstrates how it
achieved compliance with the minimum equity standards
percentage for that delivery year.
(D) The Agency shall prohibit participation in
procurement programs by an approved vendor or
designee, as applicable, or entities with which an
approved vendor or designee, as applicable, shares a
common parent company if an approved vendor or
designee, as applicable, failed to meet the minimum
equity standards for the prior delivery year. Waivers
approved for lack of equity eligible persons or equity
eligible contractors in a geographic area of a project
shall not count against the approved vendor or
designee. The Agency shall offer a corrective action
plan for any such entities to assist them in obtaining
compliance and shall allow continued access to
procurement programs upon an approved vendor or
designee demonstrating compliance.
(E) The Agency shall pursue efficiencies achieved
by combining with other approved vendor or designee
reporting.
(2) Equity accountability system within the Adjustable
Block program. The equity category described in item (vi)
of subparagraph (K) of subsection (c) is only available to

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applicants that are equity eligible contractors.
(3) Equity accountability system within competitive
procurements. Through its long-term renewable resources
procurement plan, the Agency shall develop requirements
for ensuring that competitive procurement processes,
including utility-scale solar, utility-scale wind, and
brownfield site photovoltaic projects, advance the equity
goals of this subsection (c-10). Subject to Commission
approval, the Agency shall develop bid application
requirements and a bid evaluation methodology for ensuring
that utilization of equity eligible contractors, whether
as bidders or as participants on project development, is
optimized, including requiring that winning or successful
applicants for utility-scale projects are or will partner
with equity eligible contractors and giving preference to
bids through which a higher portion of contract value
flows to equity eligible contractors. To the extent
practicable, entities participating in competitive
procurements shall also be required to meet all the equity
accountability requirements for approved vendors and their
designees under this subsection (c-10). In developing
these requirements, the Agency shall also consider whether
equity goals can be further advanced through additional
measures.
(4) In the first revision to the long-term renewable
energy resources procurement plan and each revision

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thereafter, the Agency shall include the following:
(A) The current status and number of equity
eligible contractors listed in the Energy Workforce
Equity Database designed in subsection (c-25),
including the number of equity eligible contractors
with current certifications as issued by the Agency.
(B) A mechanism for measuring, tracking, and
reporting project workforce at the approved vendor or
designee level, as applicable, which shall include a
measurement methodology and records to be made
available for audit by the Agency or the Program
Administrator.
(C) A program for approved vendors, designees,
eligible persons, and equity eligible contractors to
receive trainings, guidance, and other support from
the Agency or its designee regarding the equity
category outlined in item (vi) of subparagraph (K) of
paragraph (1) of subsection (c) and in meeting the
minimum equity standards of this subsection (c-10).
(D) A process for certifying equity eligible
contractors and equity eligible persons. The
certification process shall coordinate with the Energy
Workforce Equity Database set forth in subsection
(c-25).
(E) An application for waiver of the minimum
equity standards of this subsection, which the Agency

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shall have the discretion to grant in rare
circumstances. The Agency may grant such a waiver
where the applicant provides evidence of significant
efforts toward meeting the minimum equity commitment,
including: use of the Energy Workforce Equity
Database; efforts to hire or contract with entities
that hire eligible persons; and efforts to establish
contracting relationships with eligible contractors.
The Agency shall support applicants in understanding
the Energy Workforce Equity Database and other
resources for pursuing compliance of the minimum
equity standards. Waivers shall be project-specific,
unless the Agency deems it necessary to grant a waiver
across a portfolio of projects, and in effect for no
longer than one year. Any waiver extension or
subsequent waiver request from an applicant shall be
subject to the requirements of this Section and shall
specify efforts made to reach compliance. When
considering whether to grant a waiver, and to what
extent, the Agency shall consider the degree to which
similarly situated applicants have been able to meet
these minimum equity commitments. For repeated waiver
requests for specific lack of eligible persons or
eligible contractors available, the Agency shall make
recommendations to target recruitment to add such
eligible persons or eligible contractors to the

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database.
(5) The Agency shall collect information about work on
projects or portfolios of projects subject to these
minimum equity standards to ensure compliance with this
subsection (c-10). Reporting in furtherance of this
requirement may be combined with other annual reporting
requirements. Such reporting shall include proof of
certification of each equity eligible contractor or equity
eligible person during the applicable time period.
(6) The Agency shall keep confidential all information
and communication that provides private or personal
information.
(7) Modifications to the equity accountability system.
As part of the update of the long-term renewable resources
procurement plan to be initiated in 2023, or sooner if the
Agency deems necessary, the Agency shall determine the
extent to which the equity accountability system described
in this subsection (c-10) has advanced the goals of this
amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, including
through the inclusion of equity eligible persons and
equity eligible contractors in renewable energy credit
projects. If the Agency finds that the equity
accountability system has failed to meet those goals to
its fullest potential, the Agency may revise the following
criteria for future Agency procurements: (A) the
percentage of project workforce, or other appropriate

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workforce measure, certified as equity eligible persons or
equity eligible contractors; (B) definitions for equity
investment eligible persons and equity investment eligible
community; and (C) such other modifications necessary to
advance the goals of this amendatory Act of the 102nd
General Assembly effectively. Such revised criteria may
also establish distinct equity accountability systems for
different types of procurements or different regions of
the State if the Agency finds that doing so will further
the purposes of such programs. Revisions shall be
developed with stakeholder input, including from equity
eligible persons, equity eligible contractors, and
community-based organizations that work with such persons
and contractors.
(c-15) Racial discrimination elimination powers and
process.
(1) Purpose. It is the purpose of this subsection to
empower the Agency and other State actors to remedy racial
discrimination in Illinois' clean energy economy as
effectively and expediently as possible, including through
the use of race-conscious remedies, such as race-conscious
contracting and hiring goals, as consistent with State and
federal law.
(2) Racial disparity and discrimination review
process.
(A) Within one year after awarding contracts using

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the equity actions processes established in this
Section, the Agency shall publish a report evaluating
the effectiveness of the equity actions point criteria
of this Section in increasing participation of equity
eligible persons and equity eligible contractors. The
report shall disaggregate participating workers and
contractors by race and ethnicity. The report shall be
forwarded to the Governor, the General Assembly, and
the Illinois Commerce Commission and be made available
to the public.
(B) As soon as is practicable thereafter, the
Agency, in consultation with the Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Department of
Labor, and other agencies that may be relevant, shall
commission and publish a disparity and availability
study that measures the presence and impact of
discrimination on minority businesses and workers in
Illinois' clean energy economy. The Agency may hire
consultants and experts to conduct the disparity and
availability study, with the retention of those
consultants and experts exempt from the requirements
of Section 20-10 of the Illinois Procurement Code. The
Illinois Power Agency shall forward a copy of its
findings and recommendations to the Governor, the
General Assembly, and the Illinois Commerce
Commission. If the disparity and availability study

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establishes a strong basis in evidence that there is
discrimination in Illinois' clean energy economy, the
Agency, Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity, Department of Labor, Department of
Corrections, and other appropriate agencies shall take
appropriate remedial actions, including race-conscious
remedial actions as consistent with State and federal
law, to effectively remedy this discrimination. Such
remedies may include modification of the equity
accountability system as described in subsection
(c-10).
(c-20) Program data collection.
(1) Purpose. Data collection, data analysis, and
reporting are critical to ensure that the benefits of the
clean energy economy provided to Illinois residents and
businesses are equitably distributed across the State. The
Agency shall collect data from program applicants in order
to track and improve equitable distribution of benefits
across Illinois communities for all procurements the
Agency conducts. The Agency shall use this data to, among
other things, measure any potential impact of racial
discrimination on the distribution of benefits and provide
information necessary to correct any discrimination
through methods consistent with State and federal law.
(2) Agency collection of program data. The Agency
shall collect demographic and geographic data for each

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entity awarded contracts under any Agency-administered
program.
(3) Required information to be collected. The Agency
shall collect the following information from applicants
and program participants where applicable:
(A) demographic information, including racial or
ethnic identity for real persons employed, contracted,
or subcontracted through the program and owners of
businesses or entities that apply to receive renewable
energy credits from the Agency;
(B) geographic location of the residency of real
persons employed, contracted, or subcontracted through
the program and geographic location of the
headquarters of the business or entity that applies to
receive renewable energy credits from the Agency; and
(C) any other information the Agency determines is
necessary for the purpose of achieving the purpose of
this subsection.
(4) Publication of collected information. The Agency
shall publish, at least annually, information on the
demographics of program participants on an aggregate
basis.
(5) Nothing in this subsection shall be interpreted to
limit the authority of the Agency, or other agency or
department of the State, to require or collect demographic
information from applicants of other State programs.

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(c-25) Energy Workforce Equity Database.
(1) The Agency, in consultation with the Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity, shall create an Energy
Workforce Equity Database, and may contract with a third
party to do so ("database program administrator"). If the
Department decides to contract with a third party, that
third party shall be exempt from the requirements of
Section 20-10 of the Illinois Procurement Code. The Energy
Workforce Equity Database shall be a searchable database
of suppliers, vendors, and subcontractors for clean energy
industries that is:
(A) publicly accessible;
(B) easy for people to find and use;
(C) organized by company specialty or field;
(D) region-specific; and
(E) populated with information including, but not
limited to, contacts for suppliers, vendors, or
subcontractors who are minority and women-owned
business enterprise certified or who participate or
have participated in any of the programs described in
this Act.
(2) The Agency shall create an easily accessible,
public facing online tool using the database information
that includes, at a minimum, the following:
(A) a map of environmental justice and equity
investment eligible communities;

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(B) job postings and recruiting opportunities;
(C) a means by which recruiting clean energy
companies can find and interact with current or former
participants of clean energy workforce training
programs;
(D) information on workforce training service
providers and training opportunities available to
prospective workers;
(E) renewable energy company diversity reporting;
(F) a list of equity eligible contractors with
their contact information, types of work performed,
and locations worked in;
(G) reporting on outcomes of the programs
described in the workforce programs of the Energy
Transition Act, including information such as, but not
limited to, retention rate, graduation rate, and
placement rates of trainees; and
(H) information about the Jobs and Environmental
Justice Grant Program, the Clean Energy Jobs and
Justice Fund, and other sources of capital.
(3) The Agency shall ensure the database is regularly
updated to ensure information is current and shall
coordinate with the Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity to ensure that it includes information on
individuals and entities that are or have participated in
the Clean Jobs Workforce Network Program, Clean Energy

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Contractor Incubator Program, Returning Residents Clean
Jobs Training Program, or Clean Energy Primes Contractor
Accelerator Program.
(c-30) Enforcement of minimum equity standards. All
entities seeking renewable energy credits must submit an
annual report to demonstrate compliance with each of the
equity commitments required under subsection (c-10). If the
Agency concludes the entity has not met or maintained its
minimum equity standards required under the applicable
subparagraphs under subsection (c-10), the Agency shall deny
the entity's ability to participate in procurement programs in
subsection (c), including by withholding approved vendor or
designee status. The Agency may require the entity to enter
into a corrective action plan. An entity that is not
recertified for failing to meet required equity actions in
subparagraph (c-10) may reapply once they have a corrective
action plan and achieve compliance with the minimum equity
standards.
(d) Clean coal portfolio standard.
(1) The procurement plans shall include electricity
generated using clean coal. Each utility shall enter into
one or more sourcing agreements with the initial clean
coal facility, as provided in paragraph (3) of this
subsection (d), covering electricity generated by the
initial clean coal facility representing at least 5% of
each utility's total supply to serve the load of eligible

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retail customers in 2015 and each year thereafter, as
described in paragraph (3) of this subsection (d), subject
to the limits specified in paragraph (2) of this
subsection (d). It is the goal of the State that by January
1, 2025, 25% of the electricity used in the State shall be
generated by cost-effective clean coal facilities. For
purposes of this subsection (d), "cost-effective" means
that the expenditures pursuant to such sourcing agreements
do not cause the limit stated in paragraph (2) of this
subsection (d) to be exceeded and do not exceed cost-based
benchmarks, which shall be developed to assess all
expenditures pursuant to such sourcing agreements covering
electricity generated by clean coal facilities, other than
the initial clean coal facility, by the procurement
administrator, in consultation with the Commission staff,
Agency staff, and the procurement monitor and shall be
subject to Commission review and approval.
A utility party to a sourcing agreement shall
immediately retire any emission credits that it receives
in connection with the electricity covered by such
agreement.
Utilities shall maintain adequate records documenting
the purchases under the sourcing agreement to comply with
this subsection (d) and shall file an accounting with the
load forecast that must be filed with the Agency by July 15
of each year, in accordance with subsection (d) of Section

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16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act.
A utility shall be deemed to have complied with the
clean coal portfolio standard specified in this subsection
(d) if the utility enters into a sourcing agreement as
required by this subsection (d).
(2) For purposes of this subsection (d), the required
execution of sourcing agreements with the initial clean
coal facility for a particular year shall be measured as a
percentage of the actual amount of electricity
(megawatt-hours) supplied by the electric utility to
eligible retail customers in the planning year ending
immediately prior to the agreement's execution. For
purposes of this subsection (d), the amount paid per
kilowatthour means the total amount paid for electric
service expressed on a per kilowatthour basis. For
purposes of this subsection (d), the total amount paid for
electric service includes without limitation amounts paid
for supply, transmission, distribution, surcharges and
add-on taxes.
Notwithstanding the requirements of this subsection
(d), the total amount paid under sourcing agreements with
clean coal facilities pursuant to the procurement plan for
any given year shall be reduced by an amount necessary to
limit the annual estimated average net increase due to the
costs of these resources included in the amounts paid by
eligible retail customers in connection with electric

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service to:
(A) in 2010, no more than 0.5% of the amount paid
per kilowatthour by those customers during the year
ending May 31, 2009;
(B) in 2011, the greater of an additional 0.5% of
the amount paid per kilowatthour by those customers
during the year ending May 31, 2010 or 1% of the amount
paid per kilowatthour by those customers during the
year ending May 31, 2009;
(C) in 2012, the greater of an additional 0.5% of
the amount paid per kilowatthour by those customers
during the year ending May 31, 2011 or 1.5% of the
amount paid per kilowatthour by those customers during
the year ending May 31, 2009;
(D) in 2013, the greater of an additional 0.5% of
the amount paid per kilowatthour by those customers
during the year ending May 31, 2012 or 2% of the amount
paid per kilowatthour by those customers during the
year ending May 31, 2009; and
(E) thereafter, the total amount paid under
sourcing agreements with clean coal facilities
pursuant to the procurement plan for any single year
shall be reduced by an amount necessary to limit the
estimated average net increase due to the cost of
these resources included in the amounts paid by
eligible retail customers in connection with electric

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service to no more than the greater of (i) 2.015% of
the amount paid per kilowatthour by those customers
during the year ending May 31, 2009 or (ii) the
incremental amount per kilowatthour paid for these
resources in 2013. These requirements may be altered
only as provided by statute.
No later than June 30, 2015, the Commission shall
review the limitation on the total amount paid under
sourcing agreements, if any, with clean coal facilities
pursuant to this subsection (d) and report to the General
Assembly its findings as to whether that limitation unduly
constrains the amount of electricity generated by
cost-effective clean coal facilities that is covered by
sourcing agreements.
(3) Initial clean coal facility. In order to promote
development of clean coal facilities in Illinois, each
electric utility subject to this Section shall execute a
sourcing agreement to source electricity from a proposed
clean coal facility in Illinois (the "initial clean coal
facility") that will have a nameplate capacity of at least
500 MW when commercial operation commences, that has a
final Clean Air Act permit on June 1, 2009 (the effective
date of Public Act 95-1027), and that will meet the
definition of clean coal facility in Section 1-10 of this
Act when commercial operation commences. The sourcing
agreements with this initial clean coal facility shall be

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subject to both approval of the initial clean coal
facility by the General Assembly and satisfaction of the
requirements of paragraph (4) of this subsection (d) and
shall be executed within 90 days after any such approval
by the General Assembly. The Agency and the Commission
shall have authority to inspect all books and records
associated with the initial clean coal facility during the
term of such a sourcing agreement. A utility's sourcing
agreement for electricity produced by the initial clean
coal facility shall include:
(A) a formula contractual price (the "contract
price") approved pursuant to paragraph (4) of this
subsection (d), which shall:
(i) be determined using a cost of service
methodology employing either a level or deferred
capital recovery component, based on a capital
structure consisting of 45% equity and 55% debt,
and a return on equity as may be approved by the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which in any
case may not exceed the lower of 11.5% or the rate
of return approved by the General Assembly
pursuant to paragraph (4) of this subsection (d);
and
(ii) provide that all miscellaneous net
revenue, including but not limited to net revenue
from the sale of emission allowances, if any,

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substitute natural gas, if any, grants or other
support provided by the State of Illinois or the
United States Government, firm transmission
rights, if any, by-products produced by the
facility, energy or capacity derived from the
facility and not covered by a sourcing agreement
pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection (d)
or item (5) of subsection (d) of Section 16-115 of
the Public Utilities Act, whether generated from
the synthesis gas derived from coal, from SNG, or
from natural gas, shall be credited against the
revenue requirement for this initial clean coal
facility;
(B) power purchase provisions, which shall:
(i) provide that the utility party to such
sourcing agreement shall pay the contract price
for electricity delivered under such sourcing
agreement;
(ii) require delivery of electricity to the
regional transmission organization market of the
utility that is party to such sourcing agreement;
(iii) require the utility party to such
sourcing agreement to buy from the initial clean
coal facility in each hour an amount of energy
equal to all clean coal energy made available from
the initial clean coal facility during such hour

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times a fraction, the numerator of which is such
utility's retail market sales of electricity
(expressed in kilowatthours sold) in the State
during the prior calendar month and the
denominator of which is the total retail market
sales of electricity (expressed in kilowatthours
sold) in the State by utilities during such prior
month and the sales of electricity (expressed in
kilowatthours sold) in the State by alternative
retail electric suppliers during such prior month
that are subject to the requirements of this
subsection (d) and paragraph (5) of subsection (d)
of Section 16-115 of the Public Utilities Act,
provided that the amount purchased by the utility
in any year will be limited by paragraph (2) of
this subsection (d); and
(iv) be considered pre-existing contracts in
such utility's procurement plans for eligible
retail customers;
(C) contract for differences provisions, which
shall:
(i) require the utility party to such sourcing
agreement to contract with the initial clean coal
facility in each hour with respect to an amount of
energy equal to all clean coal energy made
available from the initial clean coal facility

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during such hour times a fraction, the numerator
of which is such utility's retail market sales of
electricity (expressed in kilowatthours sold) in
the utility's service territory in the State
during the prior calendar month and the
denominator of which is the total retail market
sales of electricity (expressed in kilowatthours
sold) in the State by utilities during such prior
month and the sales of electricity (expressed in
kilowatthours sold) in the State by alternative
retail electric suppliers during such prior month
that are subject to the requirements of this
subsection (d) and paragraph (5) of subsection (d)
of Section 16-115 of the Public Utilities Act,
provided that the amount paid by the utility in
any year will be limited by paragraph (2) of this
subsection (d);
(ii) provide that the utility's payment
obligation in respect of the quantity of
electricity determined pursuant to the preceding
clause (i) shall be limited to an amount equal to
(1) the difference between the contract price
determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) of
paragraph (3) of this subsection (d) and the
day-ahead price for electricity delivered to the
regional transmission organization market of the

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utility that is party to such sourcing agreement
(or any successor delivery point at which such
utility's supply obligations are financially
settled on an hourly basis) (the "reference
price") on the day preceding the day on which the
electricity is delivered to the initial clean coal
facility busbar, multiplied by (2) the quantity of
electricity determined pursuant to the preceding
clause (i); and
(iii) not require the utility to take physical
delivery of the electricity produced by the
facility;
(D) general provisions, which shall:
(i) specify a term of no more than 30 years,
commencing on the commercial operation date of the
facility;
(ii) provide that utilities shall maintain
adequate records documenting purchases under the
sourcing agreements entered into to comply with
this subsection (d) and shall file an accounting
with the load forecast that must be filed with the
Agency by July 15 of each year, in accordance with
subsection (d) of Section 16-111.5 of the Public
Utilities Act;
(iii) provide that all costs associated with
the initial clean coal facility will be

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periodically reported to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission and to purchasers in
accordance with applicable laws governing
cost-based wholesale power contracts;
(iv) permit the Illinois Power Agency to
assume ownership of the initial clean coal
facility, without monetary consideration and
otherwise on reasonable terms acceptable to the
Agency, if the Agency so requests no less than 3
years prior to the end of the stated contract
term;
(v) require the owner of the initial clean
coal facility to provide documentation to the
Commission each year, starting in the facility's
first year of commercial operation, accurately
reporting the quantity of carbon emissions from
the facility that have been captured and
sequestered and report any quantities of carbon
released from the site or sites at which carbon
emissions were sequestered in prior years, based
on continuous monitoring of such sites. If, in any
year after the first year of commercial operation,
the owner of the facility fails to demonstrate
that the initial clean coal facility captured and
sequestered at least 50% of the total carbon
emissions that the facility would otherwise emit

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or that sequestration of emissions from prior
years has failed, resulting in the release of
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the owner of
the facility must offset excess emissions. Any
such carbon offsets must be permanent, additional,
verifiable, real, located within the State of
Illinois, and legally and practicably enforceable.
The cost of such offsets for the facility that are
not recoverable shall not exceed $15 million in
any given year. No costs of any such purchases of
carbon offsets may be recovered from a utility or
its customers. All carbon offsets purchased for
this purpose and any carbon emission credits
associated with sequestration of carbon from the
facility must be permanently retired. The initial
clean coal facility shall not forfeit its
designation as a clean coal facility if the
facility fails to fully comply with the applicable
carbon sequestration requirements in any given
year, provided the requisite offsets are
purchased. However, the Attorney General, on
behalf of the People of the State of Illinois, may
specifically enforce the facility's sequestration
requirement and the other terms of this contract
provision. Compliance with the sequestration
requirements and offset purchase requirements

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specified in paragraph (3) of this subsection (d)
shall be reviewed annually by an independent
expert retained by the owner of the initial clean
coal facility, with the advance written approval
of the Attorney General. The Commission may, in
the course of the review specified in item (vii),
reduce the allowable return on equity for the
facility if the facility willfully fails to comply
with the carbon capture and sequestration
requirements set forth in this item (v);
(vi) include limits on, and accordingly
provide for modification of, the amount the
utility is required to source under the sourcing
agreement consistent with paragraph (2) of this
subsection (d);
(vii) require Commission review: (1) to
determine the justness, reasonableness, and
prudence of the inputs to the formula referenced
in subparagraphs (A)(i) through (A)(iii) of
paragraph (3) of this subsection (d), prior to an
adjustment in those inputs including, without
limitation, the capital structure and return on
equity, fuel costs, and other operations and
maintenance costs and (2) to approve the costs to
be passed through to customers under the sourcing
agreement by which the utility satisfies its

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statutory obligations. Commission review shall
occur no less than every 3 years, regardless of
whether any adjustments have been proposed, and
shall be completed within 9 months;
(viii) limit the utility's obligation to such
amount as the utility is allowed to recover
through tariffs filed with the Commission,
provided that neither the clean coal facility nor
the utility waives any right to assert federal
pre-emption or any other argument in response to a
purported disallowance of recovery costs;
(ix) limit the utility's or alternative retail
electric supplier's obligation to incur any
liability until such time as the facility is in
commercial operation and generating power and
energy and such power and energy is being
delivered to the facility busbar;
(x) provide that the owner or owners of the
initial clean coal facility, which is the
counterparty to such sourcing agreement, shall
have the right from time to time to elect whether
the obligations of the utility party thereto shall
be governed by the power purchase provisions or
the contract for differences provisions;
(xi) append documentation showing that the
formula rate and contract, insofar as they relate

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to the power purchase provisions, have been
approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission pursuant to Section 205 of the Federal
Power Act;
(xii) provide that any changes to the terms of
the contract, insofar as such changes relate to
the power purchase provisions, are subject to
review under the public interest standard applied
by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
pursuant to Sections 205 and 206 of the Federal
Power Act; and
(xiii) conform with customary lender
requirements in power purchase agreements used as
the basis for financing non-utility generators.
(4) Effective date of sourcing agreements with the
initial clean coal facility. Any proposed sourcing
agreement with the initial clean coal facility shall not
become effective unless the following reports are prepared
and submitted and authorizations and approvals obtained:
(i) Facility cost report. The owner of the initial
clean coal facility shall submit to the Commission,
the Agency, and the General Assembly a front-end
engineering and design study, a facility cost report,
method of financing (including but not limited to
structure and associated costs), and an operating and
maintenance cost quote for the facility (collectively

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"facility cost report"), which shall be prepared in
accordance with the requirements of this paragraph (4)
of subsection (d) of this Section, and shall provide
the Commission and the Agency access to the work
papers, relied upon documents, and any other backup
documentation related to the facility cost report.
(ii) Commission report. Within 6 months following
receipt of the facility cost report, the Commission,
in consultation with the Agency, shall submit a report
to the General Assembly setting forth its analysis of
the facility cost report. Such report shall include,
but not be limited to, a comparison of the costs
associated with electricity generated by the initial
clean coal facility to the costs associated with
electricity generated by other types of generation
facilities, an analysis of the rate impacts on
residential and small business customers over the life
of the sourcing agreements, and an analysis of the
likelihood that the initial clean coal facility will
commence commercial operation by and be delivering
power to the facility's busbar by 2016. To assist in
the preparation of its report, the Commission, in
consultation with the Agency, may hire one or more
experts or consultants, the costs of which shall be
paid for by the owner of the initial clean coal
facility. The Commission and Agency may begin the

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process of selecting such experts or consultants prior
to receipt of the facility cost report.
(iii) General Assembly approval. The proposed
sourcing agreements shall not take effect unless,
based on the facility cost report and the Commission's
report, the General Assembly enacts authorizing
legislation approving (A) the projected price, stated
in cents per kilowatthour, to be charged for
electricity generated by the initial clean coal
facility, (B) the projected impact on residential and
small business customers' bills over the life of the
sourcing agreements, and (C) the maximum allowable
return on equity for the project; and
(iv) Commission review. If the General Assembly
enacts authorizing legislation pursuant to
subparagraph (iii) approving a sourcing agreement, the
Commission shall, within 90 days of such enactment,
complete a review of such sourcing agreement. During
such time period, the Commission shall implement any
directive of the General Assembly, resolve any
disputes between the parties to the sourcing agreement
concerning the terms of such agreement, approve the
form of such agreement, and issue an order finding
that the sourcing agreement is prudent and reasonable.
The facility cost report shall be prepared as follows:
(A) The facility cost report shall be prepared by

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duly licensed engineering and construction firms
detailing the estimated capital costs payable to one
or more contractors or suppliers for the engineering,
procurement and construction of the components
comprising the initial clean coal facility and the
estimated costs of operation and maintenance of the
facility. The facility cost report shall include:
(i) an estimate of the capital cost of the
core plant based on one or more front end
engineering and design studies for the
gasification island and related facilities. The
core plant shall include all civil, structural,
mechanical, electrical, control, and safety
systems.
(ii) an estimate of the capital cost of the
balance of the plant, including any capital costs
associated with sequestration of carbon dioxide
emissions and all interconnects and interfaces
required to operate the facility, such as
transmission of electricity, construction or
backfeed power supply, pipelines to transport
substitute natural gas or carbon dioxide, potable
water supply, natural gas supply, water supply,
water discharge, landfill, access roads, and coal
delivery.
The quoted construction costs shall be expressed

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in nominal dollars as of the date that the quote is
prepared and shall include capitalized financing costs
during construction, taxes, insurance, and other
owner's costs, and an assumed escalation in materials
and labor beyond the date as of which the construction
cost quote is expressed.
(B) The front end engineering and design study for
the gasification island and the cost study for the
balance of plant shall include sufficient design work
to permit quantification of major categories of
materials, commodities and labor hours, and receipt of
quotes from vendors of major equipment required to
construct and operate the clean coal facility.
(C) The facility cost report shall also include an
operating and maintenance cost quote that will provide
the estimated cost of delivered fuel, personnel,
maintenance contracts, chemicals, catalysts,
consumables, spares, and other fixed and variable
operations and maintenance costs. The delivered fuel
cost estimate will be provided by a recognized third
party expert or experts in the fuel and transportation
industries. The balance of the operating and
maintenance cost quote, excluding delivered fuel
costs, will be developed based on the inputs provided
by duly licensed engineering and construction firms
performing the construction cost quote, potential

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vendors under long-term service agreements and plant
operating agreements, or recognized third party plant
operator or operators.
The operating and maintenance cost quote
(including the cost of the front end engineering and
design study) shall be expressed in nominal dollars as
of the date that the quote is prepared and shall
include taxes, insurance, and other owner's costs, and
an assumed escalation in materials and labor beyond
the date as of which the operating and maintenance
cost quote is expressed.
(D) The facility cost report shall also include an
analysis of the initial clean coal facility's ability
to deliver power and energy into the applicable
regional transmission organization markets and an
analysis of the expected capacity factor for the
initial clean coal facility.
(E) Amounts paid to third parties unrelated to the
owner or owners of the initial clean coal facility to
prepare the core plant construction cost quote,
including the front end engineering and design study,
and the operating and maintenance cost quote will be
reimbursed through Coal Development Bonds.
(5) Re-powering and retrofitting coal-fired power
plants previously owned by Illinois utilities to qualify
as clean coal facilities. During the 2009 procurement

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planning process and thereafter, the Agency and the
Commission shall consider sourcing agreements covering
electricity generated by power plants that were previously
owned by Illinois utilities and that have been or will be
converted into clean coal facilities, as defined by
Section 1-10 of this Act. Pursuant to such procurement
planning process, the owners of such facilities may
propose to the Agency sourcing agreements with utilities
and alternative retail electric suppliers required to
comply with subsection (d) of this Section and item (5) of
subsection (d) of Section 16-115 of the Public Utilities
Act, covering electricity generated by such facilities. In
the case of sourcing agreements that are power purchase
agreements, the contract price for electricity sales shall
be established on a cost of service basis. In the case of
sourcing agreements that are contracts for differences,
the contract price from which the reference price is
subtracted shall be established on a cost of service
basis. The Agency and the Commission may approve any such
utility sourcing agreements that do not exceed cost-based
benchmarks developed by the procurement administrator, in
consultation with the Commission staff, Agency staff and
the procurement monitor, subject to Commission review and
approval. The Commission shall have authority to inspect
all books and records associated with these clean coal
facilities during the term of any such contract.

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(6) Costs incurred under this subsection (d) or
pursuant to a contract entered into under this subsection
(d) shall be deemed prudently incurred and reasonable in
amount and the electric utility shall be entitled to full
cost recovery pursuant to the tariffs filed with the
Commission.
(d-5) Zero emission standard.
(1) Beginning with the delivery year commencing on
June 1, 2017, the Agency shall, for electric utilities
that serve at least 100,000 retail customers in this
State, procure contracts with zero emission facilities
that are reasonably capable of generating cost-effective
zero emission credits in an amount approximately equal to
16% of the actual amount of electricity delivered by each
electric utility to retail customers in the State during
calendar year 2014. For an electric utility serving fewer
than 100,000 retail customers in this State that
requested, under Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities
Act, that the Agency procure power and energy for all or a
portion of the utility's Illinois load for the delivery
year commencing June 1, 2016, the Agency shall procure
contracts with zero emission facilities that are
reasonably capable of generating cost-effective zero
emission credits in an amount approximately equal to 16%
of the portion of power and energy to be procured by the
Agency for the utility. The duration of the contracts

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procured under this subsection (d-5) shall be for a term
of 10 years ending May 31, 2027. The quantity of zero
emission credits to be procured under the contracts shall
be all of the zero emission credits generated by the zero
emission facility in each delivery year; however, if the
zero emission facility is owned by more than one entity,
then the quantity of zero emission credits to be procured
under the contracts shall be the amount of zero emission
credits that are generated from the portion of the zero
emission facility that is owned by the winning supplier.
The 16% value identified in this paragraph (1) is the
average of the percentage targets in subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of this Section for the 5
delivery years beginning June 1, 2017.
The procurement process shall be subject to the
following provisions:
(A) Those zero emission facilities that intend to
participate in the procurement shall submit to the
Agency the following eligibility information for each
zero emission facility on or before the date
established by the Agency:
(i) the in-service date and remaining useful
life of the zero emission facility;
(ii) the amount of power generated annually
for each of the years 2005 through 2015, and the
projected zero emission credits to be generated

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over the remaining useful life of the zero
emission facility, which shall be used to
determine the capability of each facility;
(iii) the annual zero emission facility cost
projections, expressed on a per megawatthour
basis, over the next 6 delivery years, which shall
include the following: operation and maintenance
expenses; fully allocated overhead costs, which
shall be allocated using the methodology developed
by the Institute for Nuclear Power Operations;
fuel expenditures; non-fuel capital expenditures;
spent fuel expenditures; a return on working
capital; the cost of operational and market risks
that could be avoided by ceasing operation; and
any other costs necessary for continued
operations, provided that "necessary" means, for
purposes of this item (iii), that the costs could
reasonably be avoided only by ceasing operations
of the zero emission facility; and
(iv) a commitment to continue operating, for
the duration of the contract or contracts executed
under the procurement held under this subsection
(d-5), the zero emission facility that produces
the zero emission credits to be procured in the
procurement.
The information described in item (iii) of this

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subparagraph (A) may be submitted on a confidential
basis and shall be treated and maintained by the
Agency, the procurement administrator, and the
Commission as confidential and proprietary and exempt
from disclosure under subparagraphs (a) and (g) of
paragraph (1) of Section 7 of the Freedom of
Information Act. The Office of Attorney General shall
have access to, and maintain the confidentiality of,
such information pursuant to Section 6.5 of the
Attorney General Act.
(B) The price for each zero emission credit
procured under this subsection (d-5) for each delivery
year shall be in an amount that equals the Social Cost
of Carbon, expressed on a price per megawatthour
basis. However, to ensure that the procurement remains
affordable to retail customers in this State if
electricity prices increase, the price in an
applicable delivery year shall be reduced below the
Social Cost of Carbon by the amount ("Price
Adjustment") by which the market price index for the
applicable delivery year exceeds the baseline market
price index for the consecutive 12-month period ending
May 31, 2016. If the Price Adjustment is greater than
or equal to the Social Cost of Carbon in an applicable
delivery year, then no payments shall be due in that
delivery year. The components of this calculation are

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defined as follows:
(i) Social Cost of Carbon: The Social Cost of
Carbon is $16.50 per megawatthour, which is based
on the U.S. Interagency Working Group on Social
Cost of Carbon's price in the August 2016
Technical Update using a 3% discount rate,
adjusted for inflation for each year of the
program. Beginning with the delivery year
commencing June 1, 2023, the price per
megawatthour shall increase by $1 per
megawatthour, and continue to increase by an
additional $1 per megawatthour each delivery year
thereafter.
(ii) Baseline market price index: The baseline
market price index for the consecutive 12-month
period ending May 31, 2016 is $31.40 per
megawatthour, which is based on the sum of (aa)
the average day-ahead energy price across all
hours of such 12-month period at the PJM
Interconnection LLC Northern Illinois Hub, (bb)
50% multiplied by the Base Residual Auction, or
its successor, capacity price for the rest of the
RTO zone group determined by PJM Interconnection
LLC, divided by 24 hours per day, and (cc) 50%
multiplied by the Planning Resource Auction, or
its successor, capacity price for Zone 4

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determined by the Midcontinent Independent System
Operator, Inc., divided by 24 hours per day.
(iii) Market price index: The market price
index for a delivery year shall be the sum of
projected energy prices and projected capacity
prices determined as follows:
(aa) Projected energy prices: the
projected energy prices for the applicable
delivery year shall be calculated once for the
year using the forward market price for the
PJM Interconnection, LLC Northern Illinois
Hub. The forward market price shall be
calculated as follows: the energy forward
prices for each month of the applicable
delivery year averaged for each trade date
during the calendar year immediately preceding
that delivery year to produce a single energy
forward price for the delivery year. The
forward market price calculation shall use
data published by the Intercontinental
Exchange, or its successor.
(bb) Projected capacity prices:
(I) For the delivery years commencing
June 1, 2017, June 1, 2018, and June 1,
2019, the projected capacity price shall
be equal to the sum of (1) 50% multiplied

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by the Base Residual Auction, or its
successor, price for the rest of the RTO
zone group as determined by PJM
Interconnection LLC, divided by 24 hours
per day and, (2) 50% multiplied by the
resource auction price determined in the
resource auction administered by the
Midcontinent Independent System Operator,
Inc., in which the largest percentage of
load cleared for Local Resource Zone 4,
divided by 24 hours per day, and where
such price is determined by the
Midcontinent Independent System Operator,
Inc.
(II) For the delivery year commencing
June 1, 2020, and each year thereafter,
the projected capacity price shall be
equal to the sum of (1) 50% multiplied by
the Base Residual Auction, or its
successor, price for the ComEd zone as
determined by PJM Interconnection LLC,
divided by 24 hours per day, and (2) 50%
multiplied by the resource auction price
determined in the resource auction
administered by the Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc., in

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which the largest percentage of load
cleared for Local Resource Zone 4, divided
by 24 hours per day, and where such price
is determined by the Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
For purposes of this subsection (d-5):
"Rest of the RTO" and "ComEd Zone" shall have
the meaning ascribed to them by PJM
Interconnection, LLC.
"RTO" means regional transmission
organization.
(C) No later than 45 days after June 1, 2017 (the
effective date of Public Act 99-906), the Agency shall
publish its proposed zero emission standard
procurement plan. The plan shall be consistent with
the provisions of this paragraph (1) and shall provide
that winning bids shall be selected based on public
interest criteria that include, but are not limited
to, minimizing carbon dioxide emissions that result
from electricity consumed in Illinois and minimizing
sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter
emissions that adversely affect the citizens of this
State. In particular, the selection of winning bids
shall take into account the incremental environmental
benefits resulting from the procurement, such as any
existing environmental benefits that are preserved by

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the procurements held under Public Act 99-906 and
would cease to exist if the procurements were not
held, including the preservation of zero emission
facilities. The plan shall also describe in detail how
each public interest factor shall be considered and
weighted in the bid selection process to ensure that
the public interest criteria are applied to the
procurement and given full effect.
For purposes of developing the plan, the Agency
shall consider any reports issued by a State agency,
board, or commission under House Resolution 1146 of
the 98th General Assembly and paragraph (4) of
subsection (d) of this Section, as well as publicly
available analyses and studies performed by or for
regional transmission organizations that serve the
State and their independent market monitors.
Upon publishing of the zero emission standard
procurement plan, copies of the plan shall be posted
and made publicly available on the Agency's website.
All interested parties shall have 10 days following
the date of posting to provide comment to the Agency on
the plan. All comments shall be posted to the Agency's
website. Following the end of the comment period, but
no more than 60 days later than June 1, 2017 (the
effective date of Public Act 99-906), the Agency shall
revise the plan as necessary based on the comments

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received and file its zero emission standard
procurement plan with the Commission.
If the Commission determines that the plan will
result in the procurement of cost-effective zero
emission credits, then the Commission shall, after
notice and hearing, but no later than 45 days after the
Agency filed the plan, approve the plan or approve
with modification. For purposes of this subsection
(d-5), "cost effective" means the projected costs of
procuring zero emission credits from zero emission
facilities do not cause the limit stated in paragraph
(2) of this subsection to be exceeded.
(C-5) As part of the Commission's review and
acceptance or rejection of the procurement results,
the Commission shall, in its public notice of
successful bidders:
(i) identify how the winning bids satisfy the
public interest criteria described in subparagraph
(C) of this paragraph (1) of minimizing carbon
dioxide emissions that result from electricity
consumed in Illinois and minimizing sulfur
dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter
emissions that adversely affect the citizens of
this State;
(ii) specifically address how the selection of
winning bids takes into account the incremental

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environmental benefits resulting from the
procurement, including any existing environmental
benefits that are preserved by the procurements
held under Public Act 99-906 and would have ceased
to exist if the procurements had not been held,
such as the preservation of zero emission
facilities;
(iii) quantify the environmental benefit of
preserving the resources identified in item (ii)
of this subparagraph (C-5), including the
following:
(aa) the value of avoided greenhouse gas
emissions measured as the product of the zero
emission facilities' output over the contract
term multiplied by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency eGrid subregion carbon
dioxide emission rate and the U.S. Interagency
Working Group on Social Cost of Carbon's price
in the August 2016 Technical Update using a 3%
discount rate, adjusted for inflation for each
delivery year; and
(bb) the costs of replacement with other
zero carbon dioxide resources, including wind
and photovoltaic, based upon the simple
average of the following:
(I) the price, or if there is more

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than one price, the average of the prices,
paid for renewable energy credits from new
utility-scale wind projects in the
procurement events specified in item (i)
of subparagraph (G) of paragraph (1) of
subsection (c) of this Section; and
(II) the price, or if there is more
than one price, the average of the prices,
paid for renewable energy credits from new
utility-scale solar projects and
brownfield site photovoltaic projects in
the procurement events specified in item
(ii) of subparagraph (G) of paragraph (1)
of subsection (c) of this Section and,
after January 1, 2015, renewable energy
credits from photovoltaic distributed
generation projects in procurement events
held under subsection (c) of this Section.
Each utility shall enter into binding contractual
arrangements with the winning suppliers.
The procurement described in this subsection
(d-5), including, but not limited to, the execution of
all contracts procured, shall be completed no later
than May 10, 2017. Based on the effective date of
Public Act 99-906, the Agency and Commission may, as
appropriate, modify the various dates and timelines

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under this subparagraph and subparagraphs (C) and (D)
of this paragraph (1). The procurement and plan
approval processes required by this subsection (d-5)
shall be conducted in conjunction with the procurement
and plan approval processes required by subsection (c)
of this Section and Section 16-111.5 of the Public
Utilities Act, to the extent practicable.
Notwithstanding whether a procurement event is
conducted under Section 16-111.5 of the Public
Utilities Act, the Agency shall immediately initiate a
procurement process on June 1, 2017 (the effective
date of Public Act 99-906).
(D) Following the procurement event described in
this paragraph (1) and consistent with subparagraph
(B) of this paragraph (1), the Agency shall calculate
the payments to be made under each contract for the
next delivery year based on the market price index for
that delivery year. The Agency shall publish the
payment calculations no later than May 25, 2017 and
every May 25 thereafter.
(E) Notwithstanding the requirements of this
subsection (d-5), the contracts executed under this
subsection (d-5) shall provide that the zero emission
facility may, as applicable, suspend or terminate
performance under the contracts in the following
instances:

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(i) A zero emission facility shall be excused
from its performance under the contract for any
cause beyond the control of the resource,
including, but not restricted to, acts of God,
flood, drought, earthquake, storm, fire,
lightning, epidemic, war, riot, civil disturbance
or disobedience, labor dispute, labor or material
shortage, sabotage, acts of public enemy,
explosions, orders, regulations or restrictions
imposed by governmental, military, or lawfully
established civilian authorities, which, in any of
the foregoing cases, by exercise of commercially
reasonable efforts the zero emission facility
could not reasonably have been expected to avoid,
and which, by the exercise of commercially
reasonable efforts, it has been unable to
overcome. In such event, the zero emission
facility shall be excused from performance for the
duration of the event, including, but not limited
to, delivery of zero emission credits, and no
payment shall be due to the zero emission facility
during the duration of the event.
(ii) A zero emission facility shall be
permitted to terminate the contract if legislation
is enacted into law by the General Assembly that
imposes or authorizes a new tax, special

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assessment, or fee on the generation of
electricity, the ownership or leasehold of a
generating unit, or the privilege or occupation of
such generation, ownership, or leasehold of
generation units by a zero emission facility.
However, the provisions of this item (ii) do not
apply to any generally applicable tax, special
assessment or fee, or requirements imposed by
federal law.
(iii) A zero emission facility shall be
permitted to terminate the contract in the event
that the resource requires capital expenditures in
excess of $40,000,000 that were neither known nor
reasonably foreseeable at the time it executed the
contract and that a prudent owner or operator of
such resource would not undertake.
(iv) A zero emission facility shall be
permitted to terminate the contract in the event
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission terminates the
resource's license.
(F) If the zero emission facility elects to
terminate a contract under subparagraph (E) of this
paragraph (1), then the Commission shall reopen the
docket in which the Commission approved the zero
emission standard procurement plan under subparagraph
(C) of this paragraph (1) and, after notice and

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hearing, enter an order acknowledging the contract
termination election if such termination is consistent
with the provisions of this subsection (d-5).
(2) For purposes of this subsection (d-5), the amount
paid per kilowatthour means the total amount paid for
electric service expressed on a per kilowatthour basis.
For purposes of this subsection (d-5), the total amount
paid for electric service includes, without limitation,
amounts paid for supply, transmission, distribution,
surcharges, and add-on taxes.
Notwithstanding the requirements of this subsection
(d-5), the contracts executed under this subsection (d-5)
shall provide that the total of zero emission credits
procured under a procurement plan shall be subject to the
limitations of this paragraph (2). For each delivery year,
the contractual volume receiving payments in such year
shall be reduced for all retail customers based on the
amount necessary to limit the net increase that delivery
year to the costs of those credits included in the amounts
paid by eligible retail customers in connection with
electric service to no more than 1.65% of the amount paid
per kilowatthour by eligible retail customers during the
year ending May 31, 2009. The result of this computation
shall apply to and reduce the procurement for all retail
customers, and all those customers shall pay the same
single, uniform cents per kilowatthour charge under

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subsection (k) of Section 16-108 of the Public Utilities
Act. To arrive at a maximum dollar amount of zero emission
credits to be paid for the particular delivery year, the
resulting per kilowatthour amount shall be applied to the
actual amount of kilowatthours of electricity delivered by
the electric utility in the delivery year immediately
prior to the procurement, to all retail customers in its
service territory. Unpaid contractual volume for any
delivery year shall be paid in any subsequent delivery
year in which such payments can be made without exceeding
the amount specified in this paragraph (2). The
calculations required by this paragraph (2) shall be made
only once for each procurement plan year. Once the
determination as to the amount of zero emission credits to
be paid is made based on the calculations set forth in this
paragraph (2), no subsequent rate impact determinations
shall be made and no adjustments to those contract amounts
shall be allowed. All costs incurred under those contracts
and in implementing this subsection (d-5) shall be
recovered by the electric utility as provided in this
Section.
No later than June 30, 2019, the Commission shall
review the limitation on the amount of zero emission
credits procured under this subsection (d-5) and report to
the General Assembly its findings as to whether that
limitation unduly constrains the procurement of

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cost-effective zero emission credits.
(3) Six years after the execution of a contract under
this subsection (d-5), the Agency shall determine whether
the actual zero emission credit payments received by the
supplier over the 6-year period exceed the Average ZEC
Payment. In addition, at the end of the term of a contract
executed under this subsection (d-5), or at the time, if
any, a zero emission facility's contract is terminated
under subparagraph (E) of paragraph (1) of this subsection
(d-5), then the Agency shall determine whether the actual
zero emission credit payments received by the supplier
over the term of the contract exceed the Average ZEC
Payment, after taking into account any amounts previously
credited back to the utility under this paragraph (3). If
the Agency determines that the actual zero emission credit
payments received by the supplier over the relevant period
exceed the Average ZEC Payment, then the supplier shall
credit the difference back to the utility. The amount of
the credit shall be remitted to the applicable electric
utility no later than 120 days after the Agency's
determination, which the utility shall reflect as a credit
on its retail customer bills as soon as practicable;
however, the credit remitted to the utility shall not
exceed the total amount of payments received by the
facility under its contract.
For purposes of this Section, the Average ZEC Payment

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shall be calculated by multiplying the quantity of zero
emission credits delivered under the contract times the
average contract price. The average contract price shall
be determined by subtracting the amount calculated under
subparagraph (B) of this paragraph (3) from the amount
calculated under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph (3),
as follows:
(A) The average of the Social Cost of Carbon, as
defined in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of this
subsection (d-5), during the term of the contract.
(B) The average of the market price indices, as
defined in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of this
subsection (d-5), during the term of the contract,
minus the baseline market price index, as defined in
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of this subsection
(d-5).
If the subtraction yields a negative number, then the
Average ZEC Payment shall be zero.
(4) Cost-effective zero emission credits procured from
zero emission facilities shall satisfy the applicable
definitions set forth in Section 1-10 of this Act.
(5) The electric utility shall retire all zero
emission credits used to comply with the requirements of
this subsection (d-5).
(6) Electric utilities shall be entitled to recover
all of the costs associated with the procurement of zero

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emission credits through an automatic adjustment clause
tariff in accordance with subsection (k) and (m) of
Section 16-108 of the Public Utilities Act, and the
contracts executed under this subsection (d-5) shall
provide that the utilities' payment obligations under such
contracts shall be reduced if an adjustment is required
under subsection (m) of Section 16-108 of the Public
Utilities Act.
(7) This subsection (d-5) shall become inoperative on
January 1, 2028.
(d-10) Nuclear Plant Assistance; carbon mitigation
credits.
(1) The General Assembly finds:
(A) The health, welfare, and prosperity of all
Illinois citizens require that the State of Illinois act
to avoid and not increase carbon emissions from electric
generation sources while continuing to ensure affordable,
stable, and reliable electricity to all citizens.
(B) Absent immediate action by the State to preserve
existing carbon-free energy resources, those resources may
retire, and the electric generation needs of Illinois'
retail customers may be met instead by facilities that
emit significant amounts of carbon pollution and other
harmful air pollutants at a high social and economic cost
until Illinois is able to develop other forms of clean
energy.

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(C) The General Assembly finds that nuclear power
generation is necessary for the State's transition to 100%
clean energy, and ensuring continued operation of nuclear
plants advances environmental and public health interests
through providing carbon-free electricity while reducing
the air pollution profile of the Illinois energy
generation fleet.
(D) The clean energy attributes of nuclear generation
facilities support the State in its efforts to achieve
100% clean energy.
(E) The State currently invests in various forms of
clean energy, including, but not limited to, renewable
energy, energy efficiency, and low-emission vehicles,
among others.
(F) The Environmental Protection Agency commissioned
an independent audit which provided a detailed assessment
of the financial condition of the Illinois nuclear fleet
to evaluate its financial viability and whether the
environmental benefits of such resources were at risk. The
report identified the risk of losing the environmental
benefits of several specific nuclear units. The report
also identified that the LaSalle County Generating Station
will continue to operate through 2026 and therefore is not
eligible to participate in the carbon mitigation credit
program.
(G) Nuclear plants provide carbon-free energy, which

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helps to avoid many health-related negative impacts for
Illinois residents.
(H) The procurement of carbon mitigation credits
representing the environmental benefits of carbon-free
generation will further the State's efforts at achieving
100% clean energy and decarbonizing the electricity sector
in a safe, reliable, and affordable manner. Further, the
procurement of carbon emission credits will enhance the
health and welfare of Illinois residents through decreased
reliance on more highly polluting generation.
(I) The General Assembly therefore finds it necessary
to establish carbon mitigation credits to ensure decreased
reliance on more carbon-intensive energy resources, for
transitioning to a fully decarbonized electricity sector,
and to help ensure health and welfare of the State's
residents.
(2) As used in this subsection:
"Baseline costs" means costs used to establish a customer
protection cap that have been evaluated through an independent
audit of a carbon-free energy resource conducted by the
Environmental Protection Agency that evaluated projected
annual costs for operation and maintenance expenses; fully
allocated overhead costs, which shall be allocated using the
methodology developed by the Institute for Nuclear Power
Operations; fuel expenditures; nonfuel capital expenditures;
spent fuel expenditures; a return on working capital; the cost

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of operational and market risks that could be avoided by
ceasing operation; and any other costs necessary for continued
operations, provided that "necessary" means, for purposes of
this definition, that the costs could reasonably be avoided
only by ceasing operations of the carbon-free energy resource.
"Carbon mitigation credit" means a tradable credit that
represents the carbon emission reduction attributes of one
megawatt-hour of energy produced from a carbon-free energy
resource.
"Carbon-free energy resource" means a generation facility
that: (1) is fueled by nuclear power; and (2) is
interconnected to PJM Interconnection, LLC.
(3) Procurement.
(A) Beginning with the delivery year commencing on
June 1, 2022, the Agency shall, for electric utilities
serving at least 3,000,000 retail customers in the State,
seek to procure contracts for no more than approximately
54,500,000 cost-effective carbon mitigation credits from
carbon-free energy resources because such credits are
necessary to support current levels of carbon-free energy
generation and ensure the State meets its carbon dioxide
emissions reduction goals. The Agency shall not make a
partial award of a contract for carbon mitigation credits
covering a fractional amount of a carbon-free energy
resource's projected output.
(B) Each carbon-free energy resource that intends to

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participate in a procurement shall be required to submit
to the Agency the following information for the resource
on or before the date established by the Agency:
(i) the in-service date and remaining useful life
of the carbon-free energy resource;
(ii) the amount of power generated annually for
each of the past 10 years, which shall be used to
determine the capability of each facility;
(iii) a commitment to be reflected in any contract
entered into pursuant to this subsection (d-10) to
continue operating the carbon-free energy resource at
a capacity factor of at least 88% annually on average
for the duration of the contract or contracts executed
under the procurement held under this subsection
(d-10), except in an instance described in
subparagraph (E) of paragraph (1) of subsection (d-5)
of this Section or made impracticable as a result of
compliance with law or regulation;
(iv) financial need and the risk of loss of the
environmental benefits of such resource, which shall
include the following information:
(I) the carbon-free energy resource's cost
projections, expressed on a per megawatt-hour
basis, over the next 5 delivery years, which shall
include the following: operation and maintenance
expenses; fully allocated overhead costs, which

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shall be allocated using the methodology developed
by the Institute for Nuclear Power Operations;
fuel expenditures; nonfuel capital expenditures;
spent fuel expenditures; a return on working
capital; the cost of operational and market risks
that could be avoided by ceasing operation; and
any other costs necessary for continued
operations, provided that "necessary" means, for
purposes of this subitem (I), that the costs could
reasonably be avoided only by ceasing operations
of the carbon-free energy resource; and
(II) the carbon-free energy resource's revenue
projections, including energy, capacity, ancillary
services, any other direct State support, known or
anticipated federal attribute credits, known or
anticipated tax credits, and any other direct
federal support.
The information described in this subparagraph (B) may
be submitted on a confidential basis and shall be treated
and maintained by the Agency, the procurement
administrator, and the Commission as confidential and
proprietary and exempt from disclosure under subparagraphs
(a) and (g) of paragraph (1) of Section 7 of the Freedom of
Information Act. The Office of the Attorney General shall
have access to, and maintain the confidentiality of, such
information pursuant to Section 6.5 of the Attorney

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General Act.
(C) The Agency shall solicit bids for the contracts
described in this subsection (d-10) from carbon-free
energy resources that have satisfied the requirements of
subparagraph (B) of this paragraph (3). The contracts
procured pursuant to a procurement event shall reflect,
and be subject to, the following terms, requirements, and
limitations:
(i) Contracts are for delivery of carbon
mitigation credits, and are not energy or capacity
sales contracts requiring physical delivery. Pursuant
to item (iii), contract payments shall fully deduct
the value of any monetized federal production tax
credits, credits issued pursuant to a federal clean
energy standard, and other federal credits if
applicable.
(ii) Contracts for carbon mitigation credits shall
commence with the delivery year beginning on June 1,
2022 and shall be for a term of 5 delivery years
concluding on May 31, 2027.
(iii) The price per carbon mitigation credit to be
paid under a contract for a given delivery year shall
be equal to an accepted bid price less the sum of:
(I) one of the following energy price indices,
selected by the bidder at the time of the bid for
the term of the contract:

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(aa) the weighted-average hourly day-ahead
price for the applicable delivery year at the
busbar of all resources procured pursuant to
this subsection (d-10), weighted by actual
production from the resources; or
(bb) the projected energy price for the
PJM Interconnection, LLC Northern Illinois Hub
for the applicable delivery year determined
according to subitem (aa) of item (iii) of
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of
subsection (d-5).
(II) the Base Residual Auction Capacity Price
for the ComEd zone as determined by PJM
Interconnection, LLC, divided by 24 hours per day,
for the applicable delivery year for the first 3
delivery years, and then any subsequent delivery
years unless the PJM Interconnection, LLC applies
the Minimum Offer Price Rule to participating
carbon-free energy resources because they supply
carbon mitigation credits pursuant to this Section
at which time, upon notice by the carbon-free
energy resource to the Commission and subject to
the Commission's confirmation, the value under
this subitem shall be zero, as further described
in the carbon mitigation credit procurement plan;
and

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(III) any value of monetized federal tax
credits, direct payments, or similar subsidy
provided to the carbon-free energy resource from
any unit of government that is not already
reflected in energy prices.
If the price-per-megawatt-hour calculation
performed under item (iii) of this subparagraph (C)
for a given delivery year results in a net positive
value, then the electric utility counterparty to the
contract shall multiply such net value by the
applicable contract quantity and remit the amount to
the supplier.
To protect retail customers from retail rate
impacts that may arise upon the initiation of carbon
policy changes, if the price-per-megawatt-hour
calculation performed under item (iii) of this
subparagraph (C) for a given delivery year results in
a net negative value, then the supplier counterparty
to the contract shall multiply such net value by the
applicable contract quantity and remit such amount to
the electric utility counterparty. The electric
utility shall reflect such amounts remitted by
suppliers as a credit on its retail customer bills as
soon as practicable.
(iv) To ensure that retail customers in Northern
Illinois do not pay more for carbon mitigation credits

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than the value such credits provide, and
notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection
(d-10), the Agency shall not accept bids for contracts
that exceed a customer protection cap equal to the
baseline costs of carbon-free energy resources.
The baseline costs for the applicable year shall
be the following:
(I) For the delivery year beginning June 1,
2022, the baseline costs shall be an amount equal
to $30.30 per megawatt-hour.
(II) For the delivery year beginning June 1,
2023, the baseline costs shall be an amount equal
to $32.50 per megawatt-hour.
(III) For the delivery year beginning June 1,
2024, the baseline costs shall be an amount equal
to $33.43 per megawatt-hour.
(IV) For the delivery year beginning June 1,
2025, the baseline costs shall be an amount equal
to $33.50 per megawatt-hour.
(V) For the delivery year beginning June 1,
2026, the baseline costs shall be an amount equal
to $34.50 per megawatt-hour.
An Environmental Protection Agency consultant
forecast, included in a report issued April 14, 2021,
projects that a carbon-free energy resource has the
opportunity to earn on average approximately $30.28

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per megawatt-hour, for the sale of energy and capacity
during the time period between 2022 and 2027.
Therefore, the sale of carbon mitigation credits
provides the opportunity to receive an additional
amount per megawatt-hour in addition to the projected
prices for energy and capacity.
Although actual energy and capacity prices may
vary from year-to-year, the General Assembly finds
that this customer protection cap will help ensure
that the cost of carbon mitigation credits will be
less than its value, based upon the social cost of
carbon identified in the Technical Support Document
issued in February 2021 by the U.S. Interagency
Working Group on Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases and
the PJM Interconnection, LLC carbon dioxide marginal
emission rate for 2020, and that a carbon-free energy
resource receiving payment for carbon mitigation
credits receives no more than necessary to keep those
units in operation.
(D) No later than 7 days after the effective date of
this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, the
Agency shall publish its proposed carbon mitigation credit
procurement plan. The Plan shall provide that winning bids
shall be selected by taking into consideration which
resources best match public interest criteria that
include, but are not limited to, minimizing carbon dioxide

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emissions that result from electricity consumed in
Illinois and minimizing sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide,
and particulate matter emissions that adversely affect the
citizens of this State. The selection of winning bids
shall also take into account the incremental environmental
benefits resulting from the procurement or procurements,
such as any existing environmental benefits that are
preserved by a procurement held under this subsection
(d-10) and would cease to exist if the procurement were
not held, including the preservation of carbon-free energy
resources. For those bidders having the same public
interest criteria score, the relative ranking of such
bidders shall be determined by price. The Plan shall
describe in detail how each public interest factor shall
be considered and weighted in the bid selection process to
ensure that the public interest criteria are applied to
the procurement. The Plan shall, to the extent practical
and permissible by federal law, ensure that successful
bidders make commercially reasonable efforts to apply for
federal tax credits, direct payments, or similar subsidy
programs that support carbon-free generation and for which
the successful bidder is eligible. Upon publishing of the
carbon mitigation credit procurement plan, copies of the
plan shall be posted and made publicly available on the
Agency's website. All interested parties shall have 7 days
following the date of posting to provide comment to the

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Agency on the plan. All comments shall be posted to the
Agency's website. Following the end of the comment period,
but no more than 19 days later than the effective date of
this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, the
Agency shall revise the plan as necessary based on the
comments received and file its carbon mitigation credit
procurement plan with the Commission.
(E) If the Commission determines that the plan is
likely to result in the procurement of cost-effective
carbon mitigation credits, then the Commission shall,
after notice and hearing and opportunity for comment, but
no later than 42 days after the Agency filed the plan,
approve the plan or approve it with modification. For
purposes of this subsection (d-10), "cost-effective" means
carbon mitigation credits that are procured from
carbon-free energy resources at prices that are within the
limits specified in this paragraph (3). As part of the
Commission's review and acceptance or rejection of the
procurement results, the Commission shall, in its public
notice of successful bidders:
(i) identify how the selected carbon-free energy
resources satisfy the public interest criteria
described in this paragraph (3) of minimizing carbon
dioxide emissions that result from electricity
consumed in Illinois and minimizing sulfur dioxide,
nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter emissions that

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adversely affect the citizens of this State;
(ii) specifically address how the selection of
carbon-free energy resources takes into account the
incremental environmental benefits resulting from the
procurement, including any existing environmental
benefits that are preserved by the procurements held
under this amendatory Act of the 102nd General
Assembly and would have ceased to exist if the
procurements had not been held, such as the
preservation of carbon-free energy resources;
(iii) quantify the environmental benefit of
preserving the carbon-free energy resources procured
pursuant to this subsection (d-10), including the
following:
(I) an assessment value of avoided greenhouse
gas emissions measured as the product of the
carbon-free energy resources' output over the
contract term, using generally accepted
methodologies for the valuation of avoided
emissions; and
(II) an assessment of costs of replacement
with other carbon-free energy resources and
renewable energy resources, including wind and
photovoltaic generation, based upon an assessment
of the prices paid for renewable energy credits
through programs and procurements conducted

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pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of this
Act, and the additional storage necessary to
produce the same or similar capability of matching
customer usage patterns.
(F) The procurements described in this paragraph (3),
including, but not limited to, the execution of all
contracts procured, shall be completed no later than
December 3, 2021. The procurement and plan approval
processes required by this paragraph (3) shall be
conducted in conjunction with the procurement and plan
approval processes required by Section 16-111.5 of the
Public Utilities Act, to the extent practicable. However,
the Agency and Commission may, as appropriate, modify the
various dates and timelines under this subparagraph and
subparagraphs (D) and (E) of this paragraph (3) to meet
the December 3, 2021 contract execution deadline.
Following the completion of such procurements, and
consistent with this paragraph (3), the Agency shall
calculate the payments to be made under each contract in a
timely fashion.
(F-1) Costs incurred by the electric utility pursuant
to a contract authorized by this subsection (d-10) shall
be deemed prudently incurred and reasonable in amount, and
the electric utility shall be entitled to full cost
recovery pursuant to a tariff or tariffs filed with the
Commission.

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(G) The counterparty electric utility shall retire all
carbon mitigation credits used to comply with the
requirements of this subsection (d-10).
(H) If a carbon-free energy resource is sold to
another owner, the rights, obligations, and commitments
under this subsection (d-10) shall continue to the
subsequent owner.
(I) This subsection (d-10) shall become inoperative on
January 1, 2028.
(e) The draft procurement plans are subject to public
comment, as required by Section 16-111.5 of the Public
Utilities Act.
(f) The Agency shall submit the final procurement plan to
the Commission. The Agency shall revise a procurement plan if
the Commission determines that it does not meet the standards
set forth in Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act.
(g) The Agency shall assess fees to each affected utility
to recover the costs incurred in preparation of the annual
procurement plan for the utility.
(h) The Agency shall assess fees to each bidder to recover
the costs incurred in connection with a competitive
procurement process.
(i) A renewable energy credit, carbon emission credit,
zero emission credit, or carbon mitigation credit can only be
used once to comply with a single portfolio or other standard
as set forth in subsection (c), subsection (d), or subsection

SB2012 - 213 - LRB103 25519 AMQ 51868 b
(d-5) of this Section, respectively. A renewable energy
credit, carbon emission credit, zero emission credit, or
carbon mitigation credit cannot be used to satisfy the
requirements of more than one standard. If more than one type
of credit is issued for the same megawatt hour of energy, only
one credit can be used to satisfy the requirements of a single
standard. After such use, the credit must be retired together
with any other credits issued for the same megawatt hour of
energy.
(Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 101-113, eff. 1-1-20;
102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)
Section 15. The Community Energy, Climate, and Jobs
Planning Act is amended by changing Section 15-10 as follows:
(50 ILCS 65/15-10)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on September 15, 2045)
Sec. 15-10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Alternative energy improvement" means the installation or
upgrade of electrical wiring, outlets, or charging stations to
charge a motor vehicle that is fully or partially powered by
electricity; photovoltaic, energy storage, or thermal
resource; or any combination thereof.
"Disadvantaged worker" means an individual who is defined
as: (1) being homeless; (2) being a custodial single parent;
(3) being a recipient of public assistance; (4) lacking a high

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school diploma or high school equivalency; (5) having a
criminal record or other involvement in the criminal justice
system; (6) suffering from chronic unemployment; (7) being
previously in the child welfare system; or (8) being a
veteran.
"Energy efficiency improvement" means equipment, devices,
or materials intended to decrease energy consumption or
promote a more efficient use of electricity, natural gas,
propane, or other forms of energy on property, including, but
not limited to:
(1) insulation in walls, roofs, floors, foundations,
or heating and cooling distribution systems;
(2) storm windows and doors, multi-glazed windows and
doors, heat-absorbing or heat-reflective glazed and coated
window and door systems, and additional glazing,
reductions in glass area, and other window and door system
modifications that reduce energy consumption;
(3) automated energy control systems;
(4) high efficiency heating, ventilating, or
air-conditioning and distribution system modifications or
replacements;
(5) caulking, weather-stripping, and air sealing;
(6) replacement or modification of lighting fixtures
to reduce the energy use of the lighting system;
(7) energy controls or recovery systems;
(8) day lighting systems;

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(9) any energy efficiency project, as defined in
Section 825-65 of the Illinois Finance Authority Act; and
(10) any other installation or modification of
equipment, devices, or materials approved as a utility
cost-saving measure by the governing body.
"Energy project" means the installation or modification of
an alternative energy improvement, energy efficiency
improvement, or water use improvement, or the acquisition,
installation, or improvement of a renewable energy system that
is affixed to a stabilized existing property, including new
construction.
"Environmental justice communities" means the proposed
definition of that term based on existing methodologies and
findings used by the Illinois Power Agency and its
Administrator in its Illinois Solar for All Program.
"Equity investment eligible community" or "eligible
community" are synonymous and mean the geographic areas
throughout Illinois which would most benefit from equitable
investments by the State designed to combat discrimination and
foster sustainable economic growth. Specifically, eligible
communities shall be defined as the following areas:
(1) R3 Areas as established pursuant to Section 10-40
of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, where residents
have historically been excluded from economic
opportunities, including opportunities in the energy
sector; and

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(2) Environmental justice communities, as defined by
the Illinois Power Agency pursuant to the Illinois Power
Agency Act, where residents have historically been subject
to disproportionate burdens of pollution, including
pollution from the energy sector.
"Equity investment eligible person" or "eligible person"
are synonymous and mean the persons who would most benefit
from equitable investments by the State designed to combat
discrimination and foster sustainable economic growth.
Specifically, "eligible person" means the following people:
(1) a person whose primary residence is in an equity
investment eligible community;
(2) a person who is a graduate of or currently
enrolled in the foster care system; or
(3) a person who was formerly incarcerated.
"Governing body" means the county board or board of county
commissioners of a county, the city council of a municipality,
or the board of trustees of a village.
"Local Employment Plan" means a bidding option that public
agencies may include in requests for proposals to incentivize
bidders to voluntarily plan to retain and create high-skilled
local manufacturing jobs; invest in preapprenticeship,
apprenticeship, and training opportunities; and develop
family-sustaining career pathways into clean energy industries
for disadvantaged workers in a specified local area. The Local
Employment Plan only applies to work that is not financed with

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federal money.
"Local unit of government" means a county, municipality,
or village.
"Natural climate solutions" means conservation,
restoration, or improved land management actions that increase
carbon storage or avoid greenhouse gas emissions on natural
and working lands.
"Nature-based approaches for climate adaptation" means
actions that preserve, enhance, or expand functions provided
by nature that increase capacity to manage adverse conditions
created or exacerbated by climate change. "Nature-based
approaches for climate adaptation" includes, but is not
limited to, the restoration of native ecosystems, especially
floodplains; installation of bioswales, rain gardens, and
other green stormwater infrastructure; and practices that
increase soil health and reduce urban heat island effects.
"Public agency" means the State of Illinois or any of its
government bodies and subdivisions, including the various
counties, townships, municipalities, school districts,
educational service regions, special road districts, public
water supply districts, drainage districts, levee districts,
sewer districts, housing authorities, and transit agencies.
"Renewable energy resources" has the meaning set forth in
Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act resource"
includes energy and its associated renewable energy credit or
renewable energy credits from wind energy, solar thermal

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energy, geothermal energy, photovoltaic cells and panels,
biodiesel, anaerobic digestion, and hydropower that does not
involve new construction or significant expansion of
hydropower dams. For purposes of this Act, landfill gas
produced in the State is considered a renewable energy
resource. "Renewable energy resource" does not include the
incineration or burning of any solid material.
"Renewable energy system" means a fixture, product,
device, or interacting group of fixtures, products, or devices
on the customer's side of the meter that use one or more
renewable energy resources to generate electricity, and
specifically includes any renewable energy project, as defined
in Section 825-65 of the Illinois Finance Authority Act.
"U.S. Employment Plan" means a bidding option that public
agencies may include in requests for proposals to incentivize
bidders to voluntarily plan to retain and create high-skilled
U.S. manufacturing jobs; invest in preapprenticeship,
apprenticeship, and training opportunities; and develop
family-sustaining career pathways into clean energy industries
for disadvantaged workers throughout the U.S. The U.S.
Employment Plan only applies to work financed with federal
Money.
"Water use improvement" means any fixture, product,
system, device, or interacting group thereof for or serving
any property that has the effect of conserving water resources
through improved water management, efficiency, or thermal

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resource.
(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)
Section 20. The Public Utilities Act is amended by
changing Section 16-107.5 as follows:
(220 ILCS 5/16-107.5)
Sec. 16-107.5. Net electricity metering.
(a) The General Assembly finds and declares that a program
to provide net electricity metering, as defined in this
Section, for eligible customers can encourage private
investment in renewable energy resources, stimulate economic
growth, enhance the continued diversification of Illinois'
energy resource mix, and protect the Illinois environment.
Further, to achieve the goals of this Act that robust options
for customer-site distributed generation continue to thrive in
Illinois, the General Assembly finds that a predictable
transition must be ensured for customers between full net
metering at the retail electricity rate to the distribution
generation rebate described in Section 16-107.6.
(b) As used in this Section, (i) "community renewable
generation project" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act; (ii) "eligible
customer" means a retail customer that owns, hosts, or
operates, including any third-party owned systems, a solar,
wind, or other eligible renewable electrical generating

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facility that is located on the customer's premises or
customer's side of the billing meter and is intended primarily
to offset the customer's own current or future electrical
requirements; (iii) "electricity provider" means an electric
utility or alternative retail electric supplier; (iv)
"eligible renewable electrical generating facility" means a
generator, which may include the co-location of an energy
storage system, that is interconnected under rules adopted by
the Commission and is powered by a renewable energy resource
as defined in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act
solar electric energy, wind, dedicated crops grown for
electricity generation, agricultural residues, untreated and
unadulterated wood waste, livestock manure, anaerobic
digestion of livestock or food processing waste, fuel cells or
microturbines powered by renewable fuels, or hydroelectric
energy; (v) "net electricity metering" (or "net metering")
means the measurement, during the billing period applicable to
an eligible customer, of the net amount of electricity
supplied by an electricity provider to the customer or
provided to the electricity provider by the customer or
subscriber; (vi) "subscriber" shall have the meaning as set
forth in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act; (vii)
"subscription" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act; (viii) "energy storage
system" means commercially available technology that is
capable of absorbing energy and storing it for a period of time

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for use at a later time, including, but not limited to,
electrochemical, thermal, and electromechanical technologies,
and may be interconnected behind the customer's meter or
interconnected behind its own meter; and (ix) "future
electrical requirements" means modeled electrical requirements
upon occupation of a new or vacant property, and other
reasonable expectations of future electrical use, as well as,
for occupied properties, a reasonable approximation of the
annual load of 2 electric vehicles and, for non-electric
heating customers, a reasonable approximation of the
incremental electric load associated with fuel switching. The
approximations shall be applied to the appropriate net
metering tariff and do not need to be unique to each individual
eligible customer. The utility shall submit these
approximations to the Commission for review, modification, and
approval.
(c) A net metering facility shall be equipped with
metering equipment that can measure the flow of electricity in
both directions at the same rate.
(1) For eligible customers whose electric service has
not been declared competitive pursuant to Section 16-113
of this Act as of July 1, 2011 and whose electric delivery
service is provided and measured on a kilowatt-hour basis
and electric supply service is not provided based on
hourly pricing, this shall typically be accomplished
through use of a single, bi-directional meter. If the

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eligible customer's existing electric revenue meter does
not meet this requirement, the electricity provider shall
arrange for the local electric utility or a meter service
provider to install and maintain a new revenue meter at
the electricity provider's expense, which may be the smart
meter described by subsection (b) of Section 16-108.5 of
this Act.
(2) For eligible customers whose electric service has
not been declared competitive pursuant to Section 16-113
of this Act as of July 1, 2011 and whose electric delivery
service is provided and measured on a kilowatt demand
basis and electric supply service is not provided based on
hourly pricing, this shall typically be accomplished
through use of a dual channel meter capable of measuring
the flow of electricity both into and out of the
customer's facility at the same rate and ratio. If such
customer's existing electric revenue meter does not meet
this requirement, then the electricity provider shall
arrange for the local electric utility or a meter service
provider to install and maintain a new revenue meter at
the electricity provider's expense, which may be the smart
meter described by subsection (b) of Section 16-108.5 of
this Act.
(3) For all other eligible customers, until such time
as the local electric utility installs a smart meter, as
described by subsection (b) of Section 16-108.5 of this

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Act, the electricity provider may arrange for the local
electric utility or a meter service provider to install
and maintain metering equipment capable of measuring the
flow of electricity both into and out of the customer's
facility at the same rate and ratio, typically through the
use of a dual channel meter. If the eligible customer's
existing electric revenue meter does not meet this
requirement, then the costs of installing such equipment
shall be paid for by the customer.
(d) An electricity provider shall measure and charge or
credit for the net electricity supplied to eligible customers
or provided by eligible customers whose electric service has
not been declared competitive pursuant to Section 16-113 of
this Act as of July 1, 2011 and whose electric delivery service
is provided and measured on a kilowatt-hour basis and electric
supply service is not provided based on hourly pricing in the
following manner:
(1) If the amount of electricity used by the customer
during the billing period exceeds the amount of
electricity produced by the customer, the electricity
provider shall charge the customer for the net electricity
supplied to and used by the customer as provided in
subsection (e-5) of this Section.
(2) If the amount of electricity produced by a
customer during the billing period exceeds the amount of
electricity used by the customer during that billing

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period, the electricity provider supplying that customer
shall apply a 1:1 kilowatt-hour credit to a subsequent
bill for service to the customer for the net electricity
supplied to the electricity provider. The electricity
provider shall continue to carry over any excess
kilowatt-hour credits earned and apply those credits to
subsequent billing periods to offset any
customer-generator consumption in those billing periods
until all credits are used or until the end of the
annualized period.
(3) At the end of the year or annualized over the
period that service is supplied by means of net metering,
or in the event that the retail customer terminates
service with the electricity provider prior to the end of
the year or the annualized period, any remaining credits
in the customer's account shall expire.
(d-5) An electricity provider shall measure and charge or
credit for the net electricity supplied to eligible customers
or provided by eligible customers whose electric service has
not been declared competitive pursuant to Section 16-113 of
this Act as of July 1, 2011 and whose electric delivery service
is provided and measured on a kilowatt-hour basis and electric
supply service is provided based on hourly pricing or
time-of-use rates in the following manner:
(1) If the amount of electricity used by the customer
during any hourly period or time-of-use period exceeds the

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amount of electricity produced by the customer, the
electricity provider shall charge the customer for the net
electricity supplied to and used by the customer according
to the terms of the contract or tariff to which the same
customer would be assigned to or be eligible for if the
customer was not a net metering customer.
(2) If the amount of electricity produced by a
customer during any hourly period or time-of-use period
exceeds the amount of electricity used by the customer
during that hourly period or time-of-use period, the
energy provider shall apply a credit for the net
kilowatt-hours produced in such period. The credit shall
consist of an energy credit and a delivery service credit.
The energy credit shall be valued at the same price per
kilowatt-hour as the electric service provider would
charge for kilowatt-hour energy sales during that same
hourly period or time-of-use period. The delivery credit
shall be equal to the net kilowatt-hours produced in such
hourly period or time-of-use period times a credit that
reflects all kilowatt-hour based charges in the customer's
electric service rate, excluding energy charges.
(e) An electricity provider shall measure and charge or
credit for the net electricity supplied to eligible customers
whose electric service has not been declared competitive
pursuant to Section 16-113 of this Act as of July 1, 2011 and
whose electric delivery service is provided and measured on a

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kilowatt demand basis and electric supply service is not
provided based on hourly pricing in the following manner:
(1) If the amount of electricity used by the customer
during the billing period exceeds the amount of
electricity produced by the customer, then the electricity
provider shall charge the customer for the net electricity
supplied to and used by the customer as provided in
subsection (e-5) of this Section. The customer shall
remain responsible for all taxes, fees, and utility
delivery charges that would otherwise be applicable to the
net amount of electricity used by the customer.
(2) If the amount of electricity produced by a
customer during the billing period exceeds the amount of
electricity used by the customer during that billing
period, then the electricity provider supplying that
customer shall apply a 1:1 kilowatt-hour credit that
reflects the kilowatt-hour based charges in the customer's
electric service rate to a subsequent bill for service to
the customer for the net electricity supplied to the
electricity provider. The electricity provider shall
continue to carry over any excess kilowatt-hour credits
earned and apply those credits to subsequent billing
periods to offset any customer-generator consumption in
those billing periods until all credits are used or until
the end of the annualized period.
(3) At the end of the year or annualized over the

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period that service is supplied by means of net metering,
or in the event that the retail customer terminates
service with the electricity provider prior to the end of
the year or the annualized period, any remaining credits
in the customer's account shall expire.
(e-5) An electricity provider shall provide electric
service to eligible customers who utilize net metering at
non-discriminatory rates that are identical, with respect to
rate structure, retail rate components, and any monthly
charges, to the rates that the customer would be charged if not
a net metering customer. An electricity provider shall not
charge net metering customers any fee or charge or require
additional equipment, insurance, or any other requirements not
specifically authorized by interconnection standards
authorized by the Commission, unless the fee, charge, or other
requirement would apply to other similarly situated customers
who are not net metering customers. The customer will remain
responsible for all taxes, fees, and utility delivery charges
that would otherwise be applicable to the net amount of
electricity used by the customer. Subsections (c) through (e)
of this Section shall not be construed to prevent an
arms-length agreement between an electricity provider and an
eligible customer that sets forth different prices, terms, and
conditions for the provision of net metering service,
including, but not limited to, the provision of the
appropriate metering equipment for non-residential customers.

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(f) Notwithstanding the requirements of subsections (c)
through (e-5) of this Section, an electricity provider must
require dual-channel metering for customers operating eligible
renewable electrical generating facilities to whom the
provisions of neither subsection (d), (d-5), nor (e) of this
Section apply. In such cases, electricity charges and credits
shall be determined as follows:
(1) The electricity provider shall assess and the
customer remains responsible for all taxes, fees, and
utility delivery charges that would otherwise be
applicable to the gross amount of kilowatt-hours supplied
to the eligible customer by the electricity provider.
(2) Each month that service is supplied by means of
dual-channel metering, the electricity provider shall
compensate the eligible customer for any excess
kilowatt-hour credits at the electricity provider's
avoided cost of electricity supply over the monthly period
or as otherwise specified by the terms of a power-purchase
agreement negotiated between the customer and electricity
provider.
(3) For all eligible net metering customers taking
service from an electricity provider under contracts or
tariffs employing hourly or time-of-use rates, any monthly
consumption of electricity shall be calculated according
to the terms of the contract or tariff to which the same
customer would be assigned to or be eligible for if the

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customer was not a net metering customer. When those same
customer-generators are net generators during any discrete
hourly or time-of-use period, the net kilowatt-hours
produced shall be valued at the same price per
kilowatt-hour as the electric service provider would
charge for retail kilowatt-hour sales during that same
time-of-use period.
(g) For purposes of federal and State laws providing
renewable energy credits or greenhouse gas credits, the
eligible customer shall be treated as owning and having title
to the renewable energy attributes, renewable energy credits,
and greenhouse gas emission credits related to any electricity
produced by the qualified generating unit. The electricity
provider may not condition participation in a net metering
program on the signing over of a customer's renewable energy
credits; provided, however, this subsection (g) shall not be
construed to prevent an arms-length agreement between an
electricity provider and an eligible customer that sets forth
the ownership or title of the credits.
(h) Within 120 days after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, the Commission
shall establish standards for net metering and, if the
Commission has not already acted on its own initiative,
standards for the interconnection of eligible renewable
generating equipment to the utility system. The
interconnection standards shall address any procedural

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barriers, delays, and administrative costs associated with the
interconnection of customer-generation while ensuring the
safety and reliability of the units and the electric utility
system. The Commission shall consider the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standard 1547 and
the issues of (i) reasonable and fair fees and costs, (ii)
clear timelines for major milestones in the interconnection
process, (iii) nondiscriminatory terms of agreement, and (iv)
any best practices for interconnection of distributed
generation.
(h-5) Within 90 days after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, the Commission
shall:
(1) establish an Interconnection Working Group. The
working group shall include representatives from electric
utilities, developers of renewable electric generating
facilities, other industries that regularly apply for
interconnection with the electric utilities,
representatives of distributed generation customers, the
Commission Staff, and such other stakeholders with a
substantial interest in the topics addressed by the
Interconnection Working Group. The Interconnection Working
Group shall address at least the following issues:
(A) cost and best available technology for
interconnection and metering, including the
standardization and publication of standard costs;

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(B) transparency, accuracy and use of the
distribution interconnection queue and hosting
capacity maps;
(C) distribution system upgrade cost avoidance
through use of advanced inverter functions;
(D) predictability of the queue management process
and enforcement of timelines;
(E) benefits and challenges associated with group
studies and cost sharing;
(F) minimum requirements for application to the
interconnection process and throughout the
interconnection process to avoid queue clogging
behavior;
(G) process and customer service for
interconnecting customers adopting distributed energy
resources, including energy storage;
(H) options for metering distributed energy
resources, including energy storage;
(I) interconnection of new technologies, including
smart inverters and energy storage;
(J) collect, share, and examine data on Level 1
interconnection costs, including cost and type of
upgrades required for interconnection, and use this
data to inform the final standardized cost of Level 1
interconnection; and
(K) such other technical, policy, and tariff

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issues related to and affecting interconnection
performance and customer service as determined by the
Interconnection Working Group.
The Commission may create subcommittees of the
Interconnection Working Group to focus on specific issues
of importance, as appropriate. The Interconnection Working
Group shall report to the Commission on recommended
improvements to interconnection rules and tariffs and
policies as determined by the Interconnection Working
Group at least every 6 months. Such reports shall include
consensus recommendations of the Interconnection Working
Group and, if applicable, additional recommendations for
which consensus was not reached. The Commission shall use
the report from the Interconnection Working Group to
determine whether processes should be commenced to
formally codify or implement the recommendations;
(2) create or contract for an Ombudsman to resolve
interconnection disputes through non-binding arbitration.
The Ombudsman may be paid in full or in part through fees
levied on the initiators of the dispute; and
(3) determine a single standardized cost for Level 1
interconnections, which shall not exceed $200.
(i) All electricity providers shall begin to offer net
metering no later than April 1, 2008.
(j) An electricity provider shall provide net metering to
eligible customers according to subsections (d), (d-5), and

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(e). Eligible renewable electrical generating facilities for
which eligible customers registered for net metering before
January 1, 2025 shall continue to receive net metering
services according to subsections (d), (d-5), and (e) of this
Section for the lifetime of the system, regardless of whether
those retail customers change electricity providers or whether
the retail customer benefiting from the system changes. On and
after January 1, 2025, any eligible customer that applies for
net metering and previously would have qualified under
subsections (d), (d-5), or (e) shall only be eligible for net
metering as described in subsection (n).
(k) Each electricity provider shall maintain records and
report annually to the Commission the total number of net
metering customers served by the provider, as well as the
type, capacity, and energy sources of the generating systems
used by the net metering customers. Nothing in this Section
shall limit the ability of an electricity provider to request
the redaction of information deemed by the Commission to be
confidential business information.
(l)(1) Notwithstanding the definition of "eligible
customer" in item (ii) of subsection (b) of this Section, each
electricity provider shall allow net metering as set forth in
this subsection (l) and for the following projects, provided
that only electric utilities serving more than 200,000
customers as of January 1, 2021 shall provide net metering for
projects that are eligible for subparagraph (C) of this

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paragraph (1) and have energized after the effective date of
this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly:
(A) properties owned or leased by multiple customers
that contribute to the operation of an eligible renewable
electrical generating facility through an ownership or
leasehold interest of at least 200 watts in such facility,
such as a community-owned wind project, a community-owned
biomass project, a community-owned solar project, or a
community methane digester processing livestock waste from
multiple sources, provided that the facility is also
located within the utility's service territory;
(B) individual units, apartments, or properties
located in a single building that are owned or leased by
multiple customers and collectively served by a common
eligible renewable electrical generating facility, such as
an office or apartment building, a shopping center or
strip mall served by photovoltaic panels on the roof; and
(C) subscriptions to community renewable generation
projects, including community renewable generation
projects on the customer's side of the billing meter of a
host facility and partially used for the customer's own
load.
In addition, the nameplate capacity of the eligible
renewable electric generating facility that serves the demand
of the properties, units, or apartments identified in
paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection (l) shall not exceed

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5,000 kilowatts in nameplate capacity in total. Any eligible
renewable electrical generating facility or community
renewable generation project that is powered by photovoltaic
electric energy and installed after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly must be installed
by a qualified person in compliance with the requirements of
Section 16-128A of the Public Utilities Act and any rules or
regulations adopted thereunder.
(2) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, an
electricity provider shall provide credits for the electricity
produced by the projects described in paragraph (1) of this
subsection (l). The electricity provider shall provide credits
that include at least energy supply, capacity, transmission,
and, if applicable, the purchased energy adjustment on the
subscriber's monthly bill equal to the subscriber's share of
the production of electricity from the project, as determined
by paragraph (3) of this subsection (l). For customers with
transmission or capacity charges not charged on a
kilowatt-hour basis, the electricity provider shall prepare a
reasonable approximation of the kilowatt-hour equivalent value
and provide that value as a monetary credit. The electricity
provider shall submit these approximation methodologies to the
Commission for review, modification, and approval.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, customers on payment
plans or participating in budget billing programs shall have
credits applied on a monthly basis.

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(3) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary and
regardless of whether a subscriber to an eligible community
renewable generation project receives power and energy service
from the electric utility or an alternative retail electric
supplier, for projects eligible under paragraph (C) of
subparagraph (1) of this subsection (l), electric utilities
serving more than 200,000 customers as of January 1, 2021
shall provide the monetary credits to a subscriber's
subsequent bill for the electricity produced by community
renewable generation projects. The electric utility shall
provide monetary credits to a subscriber's subsequent bill at
the utility's total price to compare equal to the subscriber's
share of the production of electricity from the project, as
determined by paragraph (5) of this subsection (l). For the
purposes of this subsection, "total price to compare" means
the rate or rates published by the Illinois Commerce
Commission for energy supply for eligible customers receiving
supply service from the electric utility, and shall include
energy, capacity, transmission, and the purchased energy
adjustment. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary,
customers on payment plans or participating in budget billing
programs shall have credits applied on a monthly basis. Any
applicable credit or reduction in load obligation from the
production of the community renewable generating projects
receiving a credit under this subsection shall be credited to
the electric utility to offset the cost of providing the

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credit. To the extent that the credit or load obligation
reduction does not completely offset the cost of providing the
credit to subscribers of community renewable generation
projects as described in this subsection, the electric utility
may recover the remaining costs through its Multi-Year Rate
Plan. All electric utilities serving 200,000 or fewer
customers as of January 1, 2021 shall only provide the
monetary credits to a subscriber's subsequent bill for the
electricity produced by community renewable generation
projects if the subscriber receives power and energy service
from the electric utility. Alternative retail electric
suppliers providing power and energy service to a subscriber
located within the service territory of an electric utility
not subject to Sections 16-108.18 and 16-118 shall provide the
monetary credits to the subscriber's subsequent bill for the
electricity produced by community renewable generation
projects.
(4) If requested by the owner or operator of a community
renewable generating project, an electric utility serving more
than 200,000 customers as of January 1, 2021 shall enter into a
net crediting agreement with the owner or operator to include
a subscriber's subscription fee on the subscriber's monthly
electric bill and provide the subscriber with a net credit
equivalent to the total bill credit value for that generation
period minus the subscription fee, provided the subscription
fee is structured as a fixed percentage of bill credit value.

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The net crediting agreement shall set forth payment terms from
the electric utility to the owner or operator of the community
renewable generating project, and the electric utility may
charge a net crediting fee to the owner or operator of a
community renewable generating project that may not exceed 2%
of the bill credit value. Notwithstanding anything to the
contrary, an electric utility serving 200,000 customers or
fewer as of January 1, 2021 shall not be obligated to enter
into a net crediting agreement with the owner or operator of a
community renewable generating project.
(5) For the purposes of facilitating net metering, the
owner or operator of the eligible renewable electrical
generating facility or community renewable generation project
shall be responsible for determining the amount of the credit
that each customer or subscriber participating in a project
under this subsection (l) is to receive in the following
manner:
(A) The owner or operator shall, on a monthly basis,
provide to the electric utility the kilowatthours of
generation attributable to each of the utility's retail
customers and subscribers participating in projects under
this subsection (l) in accordance with the customer's or
subscriber's share of the eligible renewable electric
generating facility's or community renewable generation
project's output of power and energy for such month. The
owner or operator shall electronically transmit such

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calculations and associated documentation to the electric
utility, in a format or method set forth in the applicable
tariff, on a monthly basis so that the electric utility
can reflect the monetary credits on customers' and
subscribers' electric utility bills. The electric utility
shall be permitted to revise its tariffs to implement the
provisions of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General
Assembly. The owner or operator shall separately provide
the electric utility with the documentation detailing the
calculations supporting the credit in the manner set forth
in the applicable tariff.
(B) For those participating customers and subscribers
who receive their energy supply from an alternative retail
electric supplier, the electric utility shall remit to the
applicable alternative retail electric supplier the
information provided under subparagraph (A) of this
paragraph (3) for such customers and subscribers in a
manner set forth in such alternative retail electric
supplier's net metering program, or as otherwise agreed
between the utility and the alternative retail electric
supplier. The alternative retail electric supplier shall
then submit to the utility the amount of the charges for
power and energy to be applied to such customers and
subscribers, including the amount of the credit associated
with net metering.
(C) A participating customer or subscriber may provide

SB2012 - 240 - LRB103 25519 AMQ 51868 b
authorization as required by applicable law that directs
the electric utility to submit information to the owner or
operator of the eligible renewable electrical generating
facility or community renewable generation project to
which the customer or subscriber has an ownership or
leasehold interest or a subscription. Such information
shall be limited to the components of the net metering
credit calculated under this subsection (l), including the
bill credit rate, total kilowatthours, and total monetary
credit value applied to the customer's or subscriber's
bill for the monthly billing period.
(l-5) Within 90 days after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, each electric
utility subject to this Section shall file a tariff or tariffs
to implement the provisions of subsection (l) of this Section,
which shall, consistent with the provisions of subsection (l),
describe the terms and conditions under which owners or
operators of qualifying properties, units, or apartments may
participate in net metering. The Commission shall approve, or
approve with modification, the tariff within 120 days after
the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General
Assembly.
(m) Nothing in this Section shall affect the right of an
electricity provider to continue to provide, or the right of a
retail customer to continue to receive service pursuant to a
contract for electric service between the electricity provider

SB2012 - 241 - LRB103 25519 AMQ 51868 b
and the retail customer in accordance with the prices, terms,
and conditions provided for in that contract. Either the
electricity provider or the customer may require compliance
with the prices, terms, and conditions of the contract.
(n) On and after January 1, 2025, the net metering
services described in subsections (d), (d-5), and (e) of this
Section shall no longer be offered, except as to those
eligible renewable electrical generating facilities for which
retail customers are receiving net metering service under
these subsections at the time the net metering services under
those subsections are no longer offered; those systems shall
continue to receive net metering services described in
subsections (d), (d-5), and (e) of this Section for the
lifetime of the system, regardless of if those retail
customers change electricity providers or whether the retail
customer benefiting from the system changes. The electric
utility serving more than 200,000 customers as of January 1,
2021 is responsible for ensuring the billing credits continue
without lapse for the lifetime of systems, as required in
subsection (o). Those retail customers that begin taking net
metering service after the date that net metering services are
no longer offered under such subsections shall be subject to
the provisions set forth in the following paragraphs (1)
through (3) of this subsection (n):
(1) An electricity provider shall charge or credit for
the net electricity supplied to eligible customers or

SB2012 - 242 - LRB103 25519 AMQ 51868 b
provided by eligible customers whose electric supply
service is not provided based on hourly pricing in the
following manner:
(A) If the amount of electricity used by the
customer during the monthly billing period exceeds the
amount of electricity produced by the customer, then
the electricity provider shall charge the customer for
the net kilowatt-hour based electricity charges
reflected in the customer's electric service rate
supplied to and used by the customer as provided in
paragraph (3) of this subsection (n).
(B) If the amount of electricity produced by a
customer during the monthly billing period exceeds the
amount of electricity used by the customer during that
billing period, then the electricity provider
supplying that customer shall apply a 1:1
kilowatt-hour energy or monetary credit kilowatt-hour
supply charges to the customer's subsequent bill. The
customer shall choose between 1:1 kilowatt-hour or
monetary credit at the time of application. For the
purposes of this subsection, "kilowatt-hour supply
charges" means the kilowatt-hour equivalent values for
energy, capacity, transmission, and the purchased
energy adjustment, if applicable. Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary, customers on payment plans
or participating in budget billing programs shall have

SB2012 - 243 - LRB103 25519 AMQ 51868 b
credits applied on a monthly basis. The electricity
provider shall continue to carry over any excess
kilowatt-hour or monetary energy credits earned and
apply those credits to subsequent billing periods. For
customers with transmission or capacity charges not
charged on a kilowatt-hour basis, the electricity
provider shall prepare a reasonable approximation of
the kilowatt-hour equivalent value and provide that
value as a monetary credit. The electricity provider
shall submit these approximation methodologies to the
Commission for review, modification, and approval.
(C) (Blank).
(2) An electricity provider shall charge or credit for
the net electricity supplied to eligible customers or
provided by eligible customers whose electric supply
service is provided based on hourly pricing in the
following manner:
(A) If the amount of electricity used by the
customer during any hourly period exceeds the amount
of electricity produced by the customer, then the
electricity provider shall charge the customer for the
net electricity supplied to and used by the customer
as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection (n).
(B) If the amount of electricity produced by a
customer during any hourly period exceeds the amount
of electricity used by the customer during that hourly

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period, the energy provider shall calculate an energy
credit for the net kilowatt-hours produced in such
period, and shall apply that credit as a monetary
credit to the customer's subsequent bill. The value of
the energy credit shall be calculated using the same
price per kilowatt-hour as the electric service
provider would charge for kilowatt-hour energy sales
during that same hourly period and shall also include
values for capacity and transmission. For customers
with transmission or capacity charges not charged on a
kilowatt-hour basis, the electricity provider shall
prepare a reasonable approximation of the
kilowatt-hour equivalent value and provide that value
as a monetary credit. The electricity provider shall
submit these approximation methodologies to the
Commission for review, modification, and approval.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, customers on
payment plans or participating in budget billing
programs shall have credits applied on a monthly
basis.
(3) An electricity provider shall provide electric
service to eligible customers who utilize net metering at
non-discriminatory rates that are identical, with respect
to rate structure, retail rate components, and any monthly
charges, to the rates that the customer would be charged
if not a net metering customer. An electricity provider

SB2012 - 245 - LRB103 25519 AMQ 51868 b
shall charge the customer for the net electricity supplied
to and used by the customer according to the terms of the
contract or tariff to which the same customer would be
assigned or be eligible for if the customer was not a net
metering customer. An electricity provider shall not
charge net metering customers any fee or charge or require
additional equipment, insurance, or any other requirements
not specifically authorized by interconnection standards
authorized by the Commission, unless the fee, charge, or
other requirement would apply to other similarly situated
customers who are not net metering customers. The customer
remains responsible for the gross amount of delivery
services charges, supply-related charges that are kilowatt
based, and all taxes and fees related to such charges. The
customer also remains responsible for all taxes and fees
that would otherwise be applicable to the net amount of
electricity used by the customer. Paragraphs (1) and (2)
of this subsection (n) shall not be construed to prevent
an arms-length agreement between an electricity provider
and an eligible customer that sets forth different prices,
terms, and conditions for the provision of net metering
service, including, but not limited to, the provision of
the appropriate metering equipment for non-residential
customers. Nothing in this paragraph (3) shall be
interpreted to mandate that a utility that is only
required to provide delivery services to a given customer

SB2012 - 246 - LRB103 25519 AMQ 51868 b
must also sell electricity to such customer.
(o) Within 90 days after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, each electric
utility subject to this Section shall file a tariff, which
shall, consistent with the provisions of this Section, propose
the terms and conditions under which a customer may
participate in net metering. The tariff for electric utilities
serving more than 200,000 customers as of January 1, 2021
shall also provide a streamlined and transparent bill
crediting system for net metering to be managed by the
electric utilities. The terms and conditions shall include,
but are not limited to, that an electric utility shall manage
and maintain billing of net metering credits and charges
regardless of if the eligible customer takes net metering
under an electric utility or alternative retail electric
supplier. The electric utility serving more than 200,000
customers as of January 1, 2021 shall process and approve all
net metering applications, even if an eligible customer is
served by an alternative retail electric supplier; and the
utility shall forward application approval to the appropriate
alternative retail electric supplier. Eligibility for net
metering shall remain with the owner of the utility billing
address such that, if an eligible renewable electrical
generating facility changes ownership, the net metering
eligibility transfers to the new owner. The electric utility
serving more than 200,000 customers as of January 1, 2021

SB2012 - 247 - LRB103 25519 AMQ 51868 b
shall manage net metering billing for eligible customers to
ensure full crediting occurs on electricity bills, including,
but not limited to, ensuring net metering crediting begins
upon commercial operation date, net metering billing transfers
immediately if an eligible customer switches from an electric
utility to alternative retail electric supplier or vice versa,
and net metering billing transfers between ownership of a
valid billing address. All transfers referenced in the
preceding sentence shall include transfer of all banked
credits. All electric utilities serving 200,000 or fewer
customers as of January 1, 2021 shall manage net metering
billing for eligible customers receiving power and energy
service from the electric utility to ensure full crediting
occurs on electricity bills, ensuring net metering crediting
begins upon commercial operation date, net metering billing
transfers immediately if an eligible customer switches from an
electric utility to alternative retail electric supplier or
vice versa, and net metering billing transfers between
ownership of a valid billing address. Alternative retail
electric suppliers providing power and energy service to
eligible customers located within the service territory of an
electric utility serving 200,000 or fewer customers as of
January 1, 2021 shall manage net metering billing for eligible
customers to ensure full crediting occurs on electricity
bills, including, but not limited to, ensuring net metering
crediting begins upon commercial operation date, net metering

SB2012 - 248 - LRB103 25519 AMQ 51868 b
billing transfers immediately if an eligible customer switches
from an electric utility to alternative retail electric
supplier or vice versa, and net metering billing transfers
between ownership of a valid billing address.
(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)
Section 25. The Environmental Protection Act is amended by
changing Sections 3.131 and 9.15 as follows:
(415 ILCS 5/3.131)
Sec. 3.131. Clean energy. "Clean energy" means energy
generation that is substantially free (90% or greater) of
carbon dioxide emissions or is generated by a renewable energy
resource as defined in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power
Agency Act.
(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)
(415 ILCS 5/9.15)
Sec. 9.15. Greenhouse gases.
(a) An air pollution construction permit shall not be
required due to emissions of greenhouse gases if the
equipment, site, or source is not subject to regulation, as
defined by 40 CFR 52.21, as now or hereafter amended, for
greenhouse gases or is otherwise not addressed in this Section
or by the Board in regulations for greenhouse gases. These
exemptions do not relieve an owner or operator from the

SB2012 - 249 - LRB103 25519 AMQ 51868 b
obligation to comply with other applicable rules or
regulations.
(b) An air pollution operating permit shall not be
required due to emissions of greenhouse gases if the
equipment, site, or source is not subject to regulation, as
defined by Section 39.5 of this Act, for greenhouse gases or is
otherwise not addressed in this Section or by the Board in
regulations for greenhouse gases. These exemptions do not
relieve an owner or operator from the obligation to comply
with other applicable rules or regulations.
(c) (Blank).
(d) (Blank).
(e) (Blank).
(f) As used in this Section:
"Carbon dioxide emission" means the plant annual CO2 total
output emission as measured by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency in its Emissions & Generation Resource
Integrated Database (eGrid), or its successor.
"Carbon dioxide equivalent emissions" or "CO2e" means the
sum total of the mass amount of emissions in tons per year,
calculated by multiplying the mass amount of each of the 6
greenhouse gases specified in Section 3.207, in tons per year,
by its associated global warming potential as set forth in 40
CFR 98, subpart A, table A-1 or its successor, and then adding
them all together.
"Cogeneration" or "combined heat and power" refers to any

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system that, either simultaneously or sequentially, produces
electricity and useful thermal energy from a single fuel
source.
"Copollutants" refers to the 6 criteria pollutants that
have been identified by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency pursuant to the Clean Air Act.
"Electric generating unit" or "EGU" means a fossil
fuel-fired stationary boiler, combustion turbine, or combined
cycle system that serves a generator that has a nameplate
capacity greater than 25 MWe and produces electricity for
sale.
"Environmental justice community" means the definition of
that term based on existing methodologies and findings, used
and as may be updated by the Illinois Power Agency and its
program administrator in the Illinois Solar for All Program.
"Equity investment eligible community" or "eligible
community" means the geographic areas throughout Illinois that
would most benefit from equitable investments by the State
designed to combat discrimination and foster sustainable
economic growth. Specifically, eligible community means the
following areas:
(1) areas where residents have been historically
excluded from economic opportunities, including
opportunities in the energy sector, as defined as R3 areas
pursuant to Section 10-40 of the Cannabis Regulation and
Tax Act; and

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(2) areas where residents have been historically
subject to disproportionate burdens of pollution,
including pollution from the energy sector, as established
by environmental justice communities as defined by the
Illinois Power Agency pursuant to the Illinois Power
Agency Act, excluding any racial or ethnic indicators.
"Equity investment eligible person" or "eligible person"
means the persons who would most benefit from equitable
investments by the State designed to combat discrimination and
foster sustainable economic growth. Specifically, eligible
person means the following people:
(1) persons whose primary residence is in an equity
investment eligible community;
(2) persons whose primary residence is in a
municipality, or a county with a population under 100,000,
where the closure of an electric generating unit or mine
has been publicly announced or the electric generating
unit or mine is in the process of closing or closed within
the last 5 years;
(3) persons who are graduates of or currently enrolled
in the foster care system; or
(4) persons who were formerly incarcerated.
"Existing emissions" means:
(1) for CO2e, the total average tons-per-year of CO2e
emitted by the EGU or large GHG-emitting unit either in
the years 2018 through 2020 or, if the unit was not yet in

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operation by January 1, 2018, in the first 3 full years of
that unit's operation; and
(2) for any copollutant, the total average
tons-per-year of that copollutant emitted by the EGU or
large GHG-emitting unit either in the years 2018 through
2020 or, if the unit was not yet in operation by January 1,
2018, in the first 3 full years of that unit's operation.
"Green hydrogen" means a power plant technology in which
an EGU creates electric power exclusively from electrolytic
hydrogen, in a manner that produces zero carbon and
copollutant emissions, using hydrogen fuel that is
electrolyzed using a 100% renewable zero carbon emission
energy source.
"Large greenhouse gas-emitting unit" or "large
GHG-emitting unit" means a unit that is an electric generating
unit or other fossil fuel-fired unit that itself has a
nameplate capacity or serves a generator that has a nameplate
capacity greater than 25 MWe and that produces electricity for
sale, including, but not limited to, coal-fired, coal-derived,
oil-fired, and natural gas-fired, and cogeneration units,
except cogeneration systems that are designed and operated to
primarily serve on-site requirements.
"NOx emission rate" means the plant annual NOx total output
emission rate as measured by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency in its Emissions & Generation Resource
Integrated Database (eGrid), or its successor, in the most

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recent year for which data is available.
"Public greenhouse gas-emitting units" or "public
GHG-emitting unit" means large greenhouse gas-emitting units,
including EGUs, that are wholly owned, directly or indirectly,
by one or more municipalities, municipal corporations, joint
municipal electric power agencies, electric cooperatives, or
other governmental or nonprofit entities, whether organized
and created under the laws of Illinois or another state.
"SO2 emission rate" means the "plant annual SO2 total
output emission rate" as measured by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency in its Emissions & Generation
Resource Integrated Database (eGrid), or its successor, in the
most recent year for which data is available.
(g) All EGUs and large greenhouse gas-emitting units that
use coal or oil as a fuel and are not public GHG-emitting units
shall permanently reduce all CO2e and copollutant emissions to
zero no later than January 1, 2030.
(h) All EGUs and large greenhouse gas-emitting units that
use coal as a fuel and are public GHG-emitting units shall
permanently reduce CO2e emissions to zero no later than
December 31, 2045. Any source or plant with such units must
also reduce their CO2e emissions by 45% from existing
emissions by no later than January 1, 2035. If the emissions
reduction requirement is not achieved by December 31, 2035,
the plant shall retire one or more units or otherwise reduce
its CO2e emissions by 45% from existing emissions by June 30,

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2038.
(i) All EGUs and large greenhouse gas-emitting units that
use gas as a fuel and are not public GHG-emitting units shall
permanently reduce all CO2e and copollutant emissions to zero,
including through unit retirement or the use of 100% green
hydrogen or other similar technology that is commercially
proven to achieve zero carbon emissions, according to the
following:
(1) No later than January 1, 2030: all EGUs and large
greenhouse gas-emitting units that have a NOx emissions
rate of greater than 0.12 lbs/MWh or a SO2 emission rate of
greater than 0.006 lb/MWh, and are located in or within 3
miles of an environmental justice community designated as
of January 1, 2021 or an equity investment eligible
community.
(2) No later than January 1, 2040: all EGUs and large
greenhouse gas-emitting units that have a NOx emission
rate of greater than 0.12 lbs/MWh or a SO2 emission rate
greater than 0.006 lb/MWh, and are not located in or
within 3 miles of an environmental justice community
designated as of January 1, 2021 or an equity investment
eligible community. After January 1, 2035, each such EGU
and large greenhouse gas-emitting unit shall reduce its
CO2e emissions by at least 50% from its existing emissions
for CO2e, and shall be limited in operation to, on average,
6 hours or less per day, measured over a calendar year, and

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shall not run for more than 24 consecutive hours except in
emergency conditions, as designated by a Regional
Transmission Organization or Independent System Operator.
(3) No later than January 1, 2035: all EGUs and large
greenhouse gas-emitting units that began operation prior
to the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd
General Assembly and have a NOx emission rate of less than
or equal to 0.12 lb/MWh and a SO2 emission rate less than
or equal to 0.006 lb/MWh, and are located in or within 3
miles of an environmental justice community designated as
of January 1, 2021 or an equity investment eligible
community. Each such EGU and large greenhouse gas-emitting
unit shall reduce its CO2e emissions by at least 50% from
its existing emissions for CO2e no later than January 1,
2030.
(4) No later than January 1, 2040: All remaining EGUs
and large greenhouse gas-emitting units that have a heat
rate greater than or equal to 7000 BTU/kWh. Each such EGU
and Large greenhouse gas-emitting unit shall reduce its
CO2e emissions by at least 50% from its existing emissions
for CO2e no later than January 1, 2035.
(5) No later than January 1, 2045: all remaining EGUs
and large greenhouse gas-emitting units.
(j) All EGUs and large greenhouse gas-emitting units that
use gas as a fuel and are public GHG-emitting units shall
permanently reduce all CO2e and copollutant emissions to zero,

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including through unit retirement or the use of 100% green
hydrogen or other similar technology that is commercially
proven to achieve zero carbon emissions by January 1, 2045.
(k) All EGUs and large greenhouse gas-emitting units that
utilize combined heat and power or cogeneration technology
shall permanently reduce all CO2e and copollutant emissions to
zero, including through unit retirement or the use of 100%
green hydrogen or other similar technology that is
commercially proven to achieve zero carbon emissions by
January 1, 2045.
(k-5) No EGU or large greenhouse gas-emitting unit that
uses gas as a fuel and is not a public GHG-emitting unit may
emit, in any 12-month period, CO2e or copollutants in excess of
that unit's existing emissions for those pollutants.
(l) Notwithstanding subsections (g) through (k-5), large
GHG-emitting units including EGUs may temporarily continue
emitting CO2e and copollutants after any applicable deadline
specified in any of subsections (g) through (k-5) if it has
been determined, as described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of
this subsection, that ongoing operation of the EGU is
necessary to maintain power grid supply and reliability or
ongoing operation of large GHG-emitting unit that is not an
EGU is necessary to serve as an emergency backup to
operations. Up to and including the occurrence of an emission
reduction deadline under subsection (i), all EGUs and large
GHG-emitting units must comply with the following terms:

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(1) if an EGU or large GHG-emitting unit that is a
participant in a regional transmission organization
intends to retire, it must submit documentation to the
appropriate regional transmission organization by the
appropriate deadline that meets all applicable regulatory
requirements necessary to obtain approval to permanently
cease operating the large GHG-emitting unit;
(2) if any EGU or large GHG-emitting unit that is a
participant in a regional transmission organization
receives notice that the regional transmission
organization has determined that continued operation of
the unit is required, the unit may continue operating
until the issue identified by the regional transmission
organization is resolved. The owner or operator of the
unit must cooperate with the regional transmission
organization in resolving the issue and must reduce its
emissions to zero, consistent with the requirements under
subsection (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), or (k-5), as
applicable, as soon as practicable when the issue
identified by the regional transmission organization is
resolved; and
(3) any large GHG-emitting unit that is not a
participant in a regional transmission organization shall
be allowed to continue emitting CO2e and copollutants
after the zero-emission date specified in subsection (g),
(h), (i), (j), (k), or (k-5), as applicable, in the

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capacity of an emergency backup unit if approved by the
Illinois Commerce Commission.
(m) No variance, adjusted standard, or other regulatory
relief otherwise available in this Act may be granted to the
emissions reduction and elimination obligations in this
Section.
(n) By June 30 of each year, beginning in 2025, the Agency
shall prepare and publish on its website a report setting
forth the actual greenhouse gas emissions from individual
units and the aggregate statewide emissions from all units for
the prior year.
(o) Every 5 years beginning in 2025, the Environmental
Protection Agency, Illinois Power Agency, and Illinois
Commerce Commission shall jointly prepare, and release
publicly, a report to the General Assembly that examines the
State's current progress toward its renewable energy resource
development goals, the status of CO2e and copollutant
emissions reductions, the current status and progress toward
developing and implementing green hydrogen technologies, the
current and projected status of electric resource adequacy and
reliability throughout the State for the period beginning 5
years ahead, and proposed solutions for any findings. The
Environmental Protection Agency, Illinois Power Agency, and
Illinois Commerce Commission shall consult PJM
Interconnection, LLC and Midcontinent Independent System
Operator, Inc., or their respective successor organizations

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regarding forecasted resource adequacy and reliability needs,
anticipated new generation interconnection, new transmission
development or upgrades, and any announced large GHG-emitting
unit closure dates and include this information in the report.
The report shall be released publicly by no later than
December 15 of the year it is prepared. If the Environmental
Protection Agency, Illinois Power Agency, and Illinois
Commerce Commission jointly conclude in the report that the
data from the regional grid operators, the pace of renewable
energy development, the pace of development of energy storage
and demand response utilization, transmission capacity, and
the CO2e and copollutant emissions reductions required by
subsection (i) or (k-5) reasonably demonstrate that a resource
adequacy shortfall will occur, including whether there will be
sufficient in-state capacity to meet the zonal requirements of
MISO Zone 4 or the PJM ComEd Zone, per the requirements of the
regional transmission organizations, or that the regional
transmission operators determine that a reliability violation
will occur during the time frame the study is evaluating, then
the Illinois Power Agency, in conjunction with the
Environmental Protection Agency shall develop a plan to reduce
or delay CO2e and copollutant emissions reductions
requirements only to the extent and for the duration necessary
to meet the resource adequacy and reliability needs of the
State, including allowing any plants whose emission reduction
deadline has been identified in the plan as creating a

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reliability concern to continue operating, including operating
with reduced emissions or as emergency backup where
appropriate. The plan shall also consider the use of renewable
energy, energy storage, demand response, transmission
development, or other strategies to resolve the identified
resource adequacy shortfall or reliability violation.
(1) In developing the plan, the Environmental
Protection Agency and the Illinois Power Agency shall hold
at least one workshop open to, and accessible at a time and
place convenient to, the public and shall consider any
comments made by stakeholders or the public. Upon
development of the plan, copies of the plan shall be
posted and made publicly available on the Environmental
Protection Agency's, the Illinois Power Agency's, and the
Illinois Commerce Commission's websites. All interested
parties shall have 60 days following the date of posting
to provide comment to the Environmental Protection Agency
and the Illinois Power Agency on the plan. All comments
submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency and the
Illinois Power Agency shall be encouraged to be specific,
supported by data or other detailed analyses, and, if
objecting to all or a portion of the plan, accompanied by
specific alternative wording or proposals. All comments
shall be posted on the Environmental Protection Agency's,
the Illinois Power Agency's, and the Illinois Commerce
Commission's websites. Within 30 days following the end of

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the 60-day review period, the Environmental Protection
Agency and the Illinois Power Agency shall revise the plan
as necessary based on the comments received and file its
revised plan with the Illinois Commerce Commission for
approval.
(2) Within 60 days after the filing of the revised
plan at the Illinois Commerce Commission, any person
objecting to the plan shall file an objection with the
Illinois Commerce Commission. Within 30 days after the
expiration of the comment period, the Illinois Commerce
Commission shall determine whether an evidentiary hearing
is necessary. The Illinois Commerce Commission shall also
host 3 public hearings within 90 days after the plan is
filed. Following the evidentiary and public hearings, the
Illinois Commerce Commission shall enter its order
approving or approving with modifications the reliability
mitigation plan within 180 days.
(3) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall only
approve the plan if the Illinois Commerce Commission
determines that it will resolve the resource adequacy or
reliability deficiency identified in the reliability
mitigation plan at the least amount of CO2e and copollutant
emissions, taking into consideration the emissions impacts
on environmental justice communities, and that it will
ensure adequate, reliable, affordable, efficient, and
environmentally sustainable electric service at the lowest

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total cost over time, taking into account the impact of
increases in emissions.
(4) If the resource adequacy or reliability deficiency
identified in the reliability mitigation plan is resolved
or reduced, the Environmental Protection Agency and the
Illinois Power Agency may file an amended plan adjusting
the reduction or delay in CO2e and copollutant emission
reduction requirements identified in the plan.
(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21; 102-1031, eff. 5-27-22.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
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INDEX
Statutes amended in order of appearance