by Lisa Albrecht and Dylan DeBiasi
2016 is off and running! Here’s a quick update on a few policy topics:
DCEO State Rebate
As you likely saw, we are very proud to announce that the Rebate/Grant program, originally set to expire in December 2015 has been extended to December 2020. It is vital to note, however, that like all state programs, it is currently unfunded and therefore the program for the current fiscal year has not been released. Without a budget we are uncertain when the DCEO will publish rules or begin accepting applications. In fact, we do not know if there will be a program this year or not and recommend that individuals interested in purchasing solar this year do not count on receiving funding. For more information, please go to the DCEO web page.
Illinois Power Agency SREC Payments
While on the subject of the State Budget, some system owners who were awarded RECs in the 2015 procurement auctions have expressed concern about the delay in their initial payments.
The absence of a 2016 Illinois state approved budget has delayed payment of any of the states bills including payments for the RECs purchased in the procurement auctions. The funds allocated for the procurements is in a secured fund and protected from budget sweeps. All REC owners will receive all of their SREC payments, once the budget issues in Springfield are resolved.
We suggest that you ensure your aggregator is still tracking your performance so that once the stalemate is resolved they will be able to bill immediately without issue.
The following was released to all successful bidders by the IPA:
“This notification is to inform you that because a State of Illinois budget for Fiscal Year 2016 (“FY 16”) has not yet been adopted, the Illinois Power Agency (“IPA”) is experiencing a delay in the processing and payment of invoices. Further, the IPA’s processing and payment of invoices will continue to be indefinitely delayed until a FY 16 State of Illinois budget is officially adopted, or an appropriation for the Agency is otherwise approved into law.
BACKGROUND
The Illinois Constitution contains the following provision: “The General Assembly by law shall make appropriations for all expenditures of public funds by the State.” [Illinois Constitution, Article VIII, Section 2]
Expenditures made by the IPA are processed by the State of Illinois Office of the Comptroller. Under this provision, the Office of the Comptroller cannot process
expenditures in the absence of an appropriation – including, at this time, expenditures by the IPA and other state agencies lacking a FY 16 appropriation.2
Please note that both the budget prepared by the Governor and the budget passed by the General Assembly (and subsequently vetoed), contained appropriations for the IPA. Further, because all IPA operations are funded by Special Funds (and not the State’s General Revenue Fund, which has been the primary focus of the lack of agreement on the State budget), the IPA expects that when a budget is finally adopted, it will include the appropriations required by the IPA to meet its contractual/financial obligations.
Although the State of Illinois cannot currently process and pay FY 16 invoices submitted to the IPA, vendors should continue submitting invoices to the Agency. The IPA will continue to take receipt of invoices and will promptly submit invoices to the Office of the Comptroller for processing and payment once a budget is approved.”
Supplemental Procurement - Round 3 Timeline
The IPA has posted the following schedule for the next auction.
Please note that aggregators may close Part 1 earlier than this date.
This procurement will have two categories: Speculative/Identified Systems <25kW and Identified Systems >25kW. There is a goal that 50% RECs be procured from the <25kW category. The total budget for this round is $15M.
UPDATE: SRECTrade has extended the deadline to submit applications for Round 3 of the Illinois Supplemental PV Procurement.The new deadline is Friday March 4th, 2016 at 5 p.m. CST. All application materials must be received by this date. Incomplete applications, or applications submitted after this deadline, will not be eligible for the Round 3 Bid. To finalize your registration, please login or create an account on SRECTrade.com.
Carbon Solutions Group is accepting systems for the Supplemental Procurement. Their deadline for identified systems and speculative bids is March 8th. To register your system with CSG please click here. If you would like more information on this round of the Supplemental Procurement and how to participate with CSG visit this page on our website.
2016 DG Regular Procurement - Timeline
The IPA has also posted the following schedule for the next auction.
Please note that aggregators may close Part 1 earlier than this date.
This procurement will have two categories: Identified Systems <25kW and Identified Systems >25kW. Speculative systems are not permissible in this event. There is a goal that 50% RECs be procured from the <25kW category. Bidders must total at least 1MW. Smaller system owners must work with an aggregator. Carbon Solutions Group will be bidding on this project and interested parties should fill out this form on their website or contact them directly @ contact@carbonsolutionsgroup.com for assistance.
Clean Jobs Bill
The coalition continues to work hard on negotiations on the Clean Jobs Bill. The legislation carried over from the 2015 sessions and we are excited to now have tremendous support in both chambers with unprecedented co-sponsorship. This bipartisan bill will advance Illinois quickly into the renewable energy and energy efficiency markets bringing tremendous investment and jobs to our region. Please watch for more information and action items
● House Bill 2607 (Sponsor - Rep. Elaine Nekritz, Co-Sponsors 62)
● Senate Bill 1485 (Sponsor - Sen. Don Harmon, Co-Sponsors 29)
