Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) is seeking qualified firms to submit proposals for the design, procurement, and installation of new, residential and commercial, direct-owned and power purchase agreement photovoltaic systems at a per-watt price lower than the prevailing single system market rate.

The group buy is being led by Midwest Renewable Energy Association. The goal of the group buy is to increase solar education and installations in Champaign and Piatt Counties through a group purchase involving free information sessions and a competitive selection process.

Between 2013 and 2018, the MREA facilitated twenty-two Solar Group Buy programs around the Midwest, reaching over 6,000 individuals with our Solar Power Hour information sessions, and leading to more than 7,400 kW on over 1,000 properties. Among those property owners who received proposals from partnering contractors, an average 42% purchased a PV system. To date, the average system size is 7.5 kW.

The group buy is conducted with the support of the City of Monticello, Piatt County, City of Savoy, City of Urbana, Prairie Rivers Network, Parkland College and associated municipalities and community groups with wide publicity and awareness in the area.

Click here to go to the RFP announcement page where you can download the Request for Proposals. NOTE: The website will be updated soon, so if the link stops working, please email Peter Murphy at peterm@midwestrenew.org.

RFP Announced February 22, 2019

RFP Questions Due/Posted March 8, 2019

RFP Proposals Due March 15, 2019

Firm Selected April 1, 2019

The deadline to ensure that Illinois Adjustable Block Program project applications are included in any potential lottery, if needed within a Group/category combination, is 12:00 PM (noon) CST on February 13, 2019. All batches that have been created within the application portal by the deadline will be reviewed by the Program Administrator for inclusion in a potential lottery. All application fee payments must have been initiated by the deadline of 12:00 PM CST on February 13, 2019.

After the lottery deadline has passed, the application portal will remain open to new applications for all Group/category combinations, in accordance with the Program Guidebook.  The volume of project applications received for each Group and project category in the program are available on the Illinois Adjustable Block Program website dashboard.

NABCEP now offers digital badges for all of its Board Certified Professionals. Check out a sample digital badge here, and if you're NABCEP Board Certified, check your email to accept your badge today!

The volumes of project applications received for each block in the program are available on the Illinois Adjustable Block Program website dashboard.  The dashboard shows megawatts of capacity submitted into each block, broken down by submission type, geography, and review status. The dashboard is updated every evening at 9:00 PM.

CHICAGO (December 13, 2018) – ComEd announced today that commercial and industrial customers can begin submitting applications for rebates of $250 per kilowatt of installed solar energy as approved last month by the Illinois Commerce Commission. The rebate will reduce up-front installation costs and spur renewable energy development, and it is available to ComEd business customers who adopted solar after June 1, 2017.

Rebate amounts will be based on the capacity of a company’s solar project. A 1,000-kilowatt project, for example, will be eligible for a rebate of $250,000. Rebates will be fulfilled within 60 days of receipt of a completed application.

“Our new rebate program is a strong demonstration of the commitment we’re making to increase access to renewable energy and create new value and more choices for our customers,” said Veronica Gomez, senior vice president of regulatory and energy policy, ComEd. “This is an important milestone for ComEd and for customers seeking clean energy alternatives, and it will further reinforce Illinois’ growing reputation for energy innovation.”

The rebate is also available to community supply project owners, operators or customers receiving community supply service. Owners or operators of a community supply project produce and provide energy to the grid, while subscribers to the project receive credits based on their share of the total energy produced.

This rebate program rewards commercial and industrial customers for generating clean energy much like ComEd’s residential net metering customers already receive credits on their bill when they produce more energy than they use with a private solar energy system installed at their home.

Eligible customers can learn more about the new ComEd rebate program requirements and apply for a rebate at www.comed.com/DGrebate.

Congratulations to the holder of ticket number 6273!

You can watch the recording of the drawing yourself on ISEA's Facebook page, where we recorded a Facebook Live video.

The Illinois Power Agency and the Program Administrator held two stakeholder meetings in Chicago on November 30, 2018. The first meeting covered the draft community solar marketing guidelines, draft brochure, and draft community solar consumer protection disclosure forms. The second meeting covered the draft program guidebook.

Click here to view a full recording of the first stakeholder meeting that covered the community solar draft documents. You can also download a copy of the presentation used during this meeting.

Click here to view a full recording of the second stakeholder meeting that covered the draft program guidebook. A copy of the presentation is also available for download.

The Program Administrator will accept comments on both the community solar draft documents and the draft program guidebook by email at comments@illinoisabp.com until December 10, 2018 at 5:00 PM CST.

The Illinois Solar Energy Association is pleased to announce that the application period for the Board of Directors 2019/20 election is now open. Three seats are being run.

The ISEA Board of Directors represents the membership of the organization by providing direction and support.

Prior to applying, please review the Board of Director position description and responsibilities.

Please visit this page to access the application process and election details.

Electronic submissions of candidacy, as outlined in the application process, will be accepted until 12 PM, local time on December 5, 2018.

Please use "ISEA 2019/20 Board of Elections Nomination" as the subject line of your email to indicate your intentions. 

Candidates also have the opportunity to announce their candidacy during the ISEA Member Meeting on December 6th. Such candidates should prepare a written statement of their candidacy, based on the application guidelines.

The Illinois Power Agency and the Adjustable Block Program Administrator will hold two stakeholder meetings on November 30, 2018. Please note this is an adjustment from the tentatively published date. The first meeting will be held from 10:00 AM –12:00 PM CST and cover draft community solar marketing guidelines, draft brochure, and community solar consumer protection disclosure forms. The second meeting will be held from 1:00-5:00 PM CST and cover the draft program guidelines for project application submittal. Both meetings will be held at the following location:

James R. Thompson Center
Assembly Hall, Lower Level
100 West Randolph St.
Chicago, IL 60601

Both meetings will also be accessible via webinar.

The 10:00 AM meeting will be accessible at the following link:
https://zoom.us/j/219694470 You can call into the webinar by phone at +1 669 900 6833 or +1 646 558 8665 and Meeting ID: 219 694 470
To automatically add this link to your calendar you can click:
Google Calendar – https://zoom.us/meeting/219694470/calendar/google/add
Outlook Calendar – https://zoom.us/meeting/219694470/ics

The 1:00 PM meeting will be accessible at the following link:
https://zoom.us/j/671109232 You can call into the webinar by phone at +1 669 900 6833 or +1 646 558 8665 and Meeting ID: 671 109 232
To automatically add this link to your calendar you can click:
Google Calendar – https://zoom.us/meeting/671109232/calendar/google/add
Outlook Calendar – https://zoom.us/meeting/671109232/ics

Draft documents to be discussed at this stakeholder meeting are expected to be released by November 26, 2018. The Program Administrator will accept comments on all material covered in this stakeholder process by email at comments@illinoisabp.com until December 10th, 2018 at 5:00 PM CST.

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