June 5, 2025
Illinois Shines is an Adjustable Block Program, designed to encourage new solar development by offering financial incentives. Through the program, the state agrees to buy the Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) generated by approved solar projects at a fixed price.
As more projects are submitted and approved, each “block” of capacity fills up, and the REC price adjusts downward for future applicants. Read below for detailed breakdown of each block within the program, and the most recent REC pricing for each.
According to Section 1-75(c)(1)(Q) of the Illinois Power Agency (IPA) Act (20 ILCS 3855) as modified by Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (Public Act 102-0662), projects participating in Illinois Shines are now classified as "public works" and must comply with prevailing wage requirements. According to the program’s official guidance, individuals working on the construction of eligible projects must be paid the applicable prevailing wage rates, and projects must meet notice and record keeping requirements set by the Prevailing Wage Act.
The Illinois Shines program defines four main project categories, or “blocks.” These include Distributed Generation (DG), Traditional Community Solar, Community-Driven Community Solar, and Public Schools. Each has unique eligibility criteria and incentive rates:
For a full breakdown of the differences between each block, please read the Illinois Shines Program Guidebook (linked below).
Current REC Prices:
Illinois Shines also sets REC prices by geographic utility service area:
(1) Group A: Includes Ameren Illinois, MidAmerican, Mt. Carmel, and MISO-area co-ops/municipal utilities.
(2) Group B: Includes ComEd and PJM-area municipal/cooperative utilities.
To view the current pricing, view the 2024-2025 REC Pricing Chart (linked below).
According to the Illinois Shines program’s official guidance, there are several exceptions to the prevailing wage requirements:
(1) Residential Distributed Generation (DG) projects (projects that serve a single-family or multi-family residential building).
(2) DG Projects that serve a house of worship and do not exceed 100 kWac (aggregated with any co-located project).
(3) Large DG projects (>25 kW AC) that were on the waitlist for the Shines Program as of the reopening on December 14, 2021 (full list of projects available here).
(4) DG projects that began construction activities prior to September 15, 2021.
(5) 10-25 kW projects initially submitted to the Large DG Category Before November 1, 2021, when the program paused to adopt CEJA updates. These projects will be treated as Large DG waitlisted.
According to the Shines Program website, in order to remain eligible for incentives, projects must follow several compliance steps:
(1) All approved vendors must certify that they understand prevailing wage requirements might be applicable to the project via a Prevailing Wage Attestation checkbox submitted at the Part I Application.
(2) All approved Vendors are required to ensure that all Designees, contractors, or subcontractors working on the project have sufficient notice of the prevailing wage applicability. Additionally, they must be informed of the proper prevailing wage for the relevant county and of the proper posting/record keeping requirements.
(3) Contractors/subcontractors must review the local prevailing rate set at the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) website. The IDOL website should be reviewed regularly to ensure that all period changes to prevailing wage rates are accounted for.
(4) All approved vendors, Designees, and/or subcontractors must provide written notice to all construction employees of the applicable prevailing wage rates through either a poster at the work site, main office, or via other written communication.
(5) Each Designee, contractor, and subcontractor is required to pay the proper prevailing wage rate to their employees and submit a Certification Transcript of Payroll (CTOP) to the IDOL Certified Transcript of Payroll Portal on a monthly basis during the construction process.
(6) All approved Vendors are required to submit all IDOL CTPs to the Shines Program Administrator at the Part II application.
For help with certified payroll reporting, contact:
• IDOL Certified Payroll Helpdesk: dol.certifiedpayroll@illinois.gov | (312) 793-3600
• Illinois Shines Program Support: admin@illinoisshines.com | (877) 783-1820
Useful Resources:
• 2024-2025 REC Pricing Chart
• Illinois Shines Program Guidebook (updated March 13, 2024)
