The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act amended the Illinois Power Agency Act to expand the “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.”

The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (Public Act 102-0662 or “CEJA”) enacted in September 2021, directed the Illinois Power Agency and Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (“DCEO”) to help historically underserved communities participate in and benefit from the growing clean energy economy. One of the tools to reach that goal is to have the IPA and DCEO create a public-facing portal that helps develop a diverse pipeline of skilled and trained clean energy workforce. The portal may be used by employers to connect to job seekers, register as a clean energy company, and post jobs, and by job seekers to connect to employers, explore jobs, and apply to become Equity Eligible Persons.
On January 31, 2023, the Illinois Power Agency announced the launch of the Energy Workforce Equity Portal at energyequity.illinois.gov. The IPA has created a webpage dedicated to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). The page represents the Agency’s commitment to DEI, which plays a central role in its mission to create an equitable clean energy future in Illinois. The page includes information on DEI targets and mandates for Illinois Shines, IPA outreach resources, and links to equity webinars. To learn more, visit https://ipa.illinois.gov/diversity-equity-and-inclusion.html. In addition, a dedicated page on the Minimum Equity Standard, including final documents and educational resources on MES, can be found at https://ipa.illinois.gov/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/minimum-equity-standard.html.

To advance that objective, the Act directed the Agency to establish an Equity Accountability System (EAS), which includes the following:

  • Minimum equity standards applicable to all applicants to the Agency’s renewable energy procurements, both through the Adjustable Block Program (Illinois Shines) and competitive procurements
  • Establishes the Equity Eligible Contractor category with Illinois Shines
  • Requirements for competitive procurement processes that advance the equity goals of the Act
The Act further establishes several required monitoring, reporting, and facilitation requirements to support the assessment of the equity accountability system. Section 1-75(c-10)(4) of the IPA Act directs the Agency to include the following in each revision to the Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan:

  • Current number of Equity Eligible Contractors certified by the Agency
  • A mechanism for measuring and reporting project workforce profiles at the Approved Vendor or Designee level
  • Training, guidance, and other support for Approved Vendors, Designees, Equity Eligible Contractors, and other stakeholders for meeting the requirements of the EEC category within Adjustable Block Program and the minimum equity standards laid out in this section
  • A process for certifying Equity Eligible Contractors and persons (please see Chapter 7 of the Long-Term Plan for more details)
  • A waiver application process for rare cases of inability to meet the minimum equity standard

Chapters 7 and 10 of the Long-Term Plan fulfill the requirements of Public Act 102-0662 with regard to the Equity Accountability System.

The Act also empowers the Agency to assess and attempt to ameliorate existing racial discrimination or disparities in rates of participation in the clean energy economy:

  • Section 1-75(c-15)(2) directs the Agency to commission and publish a racial disparity study to “measure the presence and impact of discrimination on minority businesses and workers in Illinois’ clean energy economy”
  • Section 1-75(c-20) directs the Agency to “collect data from program applicants in order to track and improve equitable distribution of benefits across Illinois communities for all procurements the Agency conducts”
  • Section 1-75(c-25) directs the Agency to work with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to create an Energy Workforce Equity Database in order to facilitate the engagement of Equity Eligible Contractors and persons on clean energy projects

For Program Year 2022-2023, the Agency and Program Administrator have presented three webinars on the Equity Accountability System and Illinois Shines to date. Recordings of the webinars, presentation slides, and Q&A from each webinar, can be found here. All AVs and Designees have been strongly encouraged to attend the webinar series or to view the recordings to ensure comprehension and compliance with forthcoming Program requirements, and to complete attestation and attendance forms included in the materials, to indicate indicating their viewing and provide information about how they will incorporate EAS plans into their organization.

October 4, 2022 Webinar Resources:
View the recording here
View the slides here
Access the Attestation Form here
View the webinar Q&A here
November 15, 2022 Webinar Resources:
View the recording here
View the slides here
View the webinar Q&A here
March 13, 2023 Webinar Resources:
View the recording here
View the slides here
View the webinar Q&A here

Minimum Equity Standard for Program Year 2023-2024

Beginning in Program Year 2023-24, each participating Approved Vendor and Designee must meet a required minimum percentage of their project workforce that includes Equity Eligible Persons, with this required percentage increasing to 30% by 2030. Definitions of equity eligible persons, the minimum workforce percentages, and key steps and dates for compliance, are provided at this page and in its linked resources. The MES requirement for the 2023-24 Program year is 10% EEPs for an entity’s workforce and the MES for the 2024-25 Program year is 12% EEPs for an entity’s workforce. Future Program years’ percentages will be determined by the IPA through the update to the Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan. Resources in support of MES Compliance for Program year 2023-2024 include:

February 2023 Stakeholder Feedback – Waiver for Minimum Equity Standard
In February 2023 the Illinois Power Agency sought public comment on the waiver for Minimum Equity Standard requirements for entities that have received a REC contract award under the Adjustable Block/Illinois Shines Program or through the IPA’s utility-scale REC procurements for a given Program/delivery year. Following the review and consideration of public comments on the waiver, the Agency finalized the waiver and process for the 2023-2024 Program year/Delivery year beginning June 1, 2023. The proposal, public responses, final waiver, and waiver rationale document are included in the following table. More information on the waiver for Minimum Equity Standard requirements can be found in Section 10.1.3.1 of the Agency’s Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan.

Minimum Equity Standard Proposal NamePublic Comment Deadline
MES Waiver Request and ScoringFebruary 22, 2023
Public Responses:
Catalyze
CGA
CGA – Proposed MES Waiver Scoring Table
Joint Solar Parties
Members of ICJC
Vistra
Climate Jobs
Climate Jobs — Scoring Suggestions
IL IBEW Renewable Energy Fund
IL IBEW Renewable Energy Fund — Support Letter
Final Minimum Equity Standard Waiver Request- published March 10, 2023 (and updated March 22, 2023)
Minimum Equity Standard Waiver Rationale - published March 17, 2023

Equity Eligible Contractors

April 2023 Stakeholder Feedback – Adjusting EEC Criteria
The Illinois Power Agency seeks stakeholder feedback on potential strategies to strengthen the criteria for qualifying as an Equity Eligible Contractor and for receiving incentives under the Equity Eligible Contractor block of capacity within the Adjustable Block Program. This feedback will inform new requirements as part of the IPA’s upcoming Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan. More information on the Equity Eligible Contactor category can be found in section 7.4.6 of the Agency’s Final 2022 Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan.

Please provide comments via email attachment to [email protected] with the subject “[Responder’s Name] – Stakeholder Feedback on EEC Criteria” by May 5, 2023.

Stakeholders may comment on as many or as few of the items outlined within the request for feedback as they would like. Stakeholders should not feel limited by the questions offered in the request for feedback and may provide comments on these proposals beyond the scope of these specific questions as it relates to the criteria for certifying Equity Eligible Contractors. Responses will be published on both the IPA and Adjustable Block Program websites. Should a commenter seek to designate any portion of its response as confidential and proprietary, that commenter should provide both public and redacted versions of its comments. Independent of that designation, if the Agency or the Program Administrator determines that a response contains confidential information that should not be disclosed, the IPA reserves the right to provide its own redactions.

The Agency is greatly interested in hearing directly from Equity Eligible Persons, Equity Eligible Contractors, or those looking to qualify as such, but generally seeks input from a wide array of stakeholders.

Equity Eligible Contractor – Adjusting EEC CriteriaPublic Comment Deadline
Eligibility Criteria for EECs and the EEC CategoryMay 5, 2023
Public Responses:
22C
Barnes & Thornburg
ICJC Jobs & EJ Subcommittee
IL IBEW Renewable Energy Fund
JSP EEC
Nexamp
Surya Powered
Toro Construction
US Solar
Windfree Wind and Solar Energy Design Company