ABP: Are co-located systems allowed to participate and receive the incentive?

In order to have two systems on the same parcel of land count as separate systems for the ABP, they need to meet the requirements below.  If they do not, they must be combined into one application.

Co-location of Distributed Generation Projects

The total capacity of distributed generation systems enrolled in the Illinois Shines program at a customer’s location will be considered a single system. (For example, three 100 kW systems at a single location will be considered a 300 kW system.)

For purposes of determining the system’s REC price, a system’s location is considered to be:

• A single building (regardless of the number of utility accounts at the location) for rooftop installations.
• A single property parcel for ground-mounted systems (if a property has both rooftop and ground-mounted systems, it will be considered a single system).
• Additionally, systems located on multiple different rooftops or ground locations on the same parcel will be considered a single system if each system is owned by the same entity or its affiliates.

What if two or more DG projects are separately owned but on the same land?

If two or more projects on one parcel are separately owned and serve to offset the load of separate entities, in order to have these arrays considered as separate projects, an Approved Vendor must provide proof that the occupants are not affiliated entities, and that each has a separate utility meter and separate utility billing.

What determines a location?

The location of a project’s modules, and not the location of the utility meters to which a project connects, determines the location of an array for co-location purposes.

Co-location of Community Solar Projects

Co-location Community Solar Projects are allowed if they can meet these conditions: 

• Land Division: A parcel of land may not have been divided into multiple parcels in the two years prior to the project application (for the Illinois Shines program) or bid (for competitive procurements) in order to circumvent this policy. If a parcel has been divided within that time period, the requirement will apply to the boundaries of the larger parcel prior to its division.
• Single Entity/Multiple Projects: If there are multiple projects owned or developed by a single entity (or its affiliates) located on one parcel of land, or on contiguous parcels of land, any size-based adders will be based on the total size of the projects owned or developed on the contiguous parcels by that single entity or its affiliates.
• Separate Interconnection Points: Projects must have separate interconnection points. 

2019 REC Delivery Contract MW Limitations

No Approved Vendor may apply to the Program for more than 4 MW of Community Solar projects on the same or contiguous parcels under the 2019 REC Delivery Contract.

Co-located projects summing to more than 2 MW of Community Solar may be permissibly located in one of two ways under the 2019 REC Delivery Contract:

• Two projects of up to 2 MW in size on one parcel or contiguous parcels
• An up-to 2 MW project on each of two contiguous parcels.

Multiple projects up to 2 MW in aggregate on the same parcel with the same owner will be considered a single project for purposes of REC pricing and size criteria in the case of a lottery under the 2019 REC Delivery Contract.

2021/2022 REC Delivery Contracts MW Limitations

An Approved Vendor may apply to the Program with up to 5 MW under the 2021 REC Delivery Contracts and later REC Delivery Contracts.

Under the 2021 and 2022 REC Delivery Contract, projects may be co-located in any manner as long as the total collocated capacity does not exceed 5 MW.