Illinois, which has one of the more mature and highest-rated community solar policy in the United States, turned the state’s first “community-driven community solar” project online in Galesburg.
Traditional community solar enables people and businesses to participate in clean energy regardless of whether they are homeowners or renters, or able to put solar panels on their roof. The consumer subscribes to a portion of the electricity generated by a local community solar installation, receiving credits on their utility bills for the electricity produced by the facility. At its heart, community solar empowers those who want a carbon-free future by giving them the choice to use renewable energy.
“Community-driven community solar projects” are also subscription-based, but the programs are designed by community members to provide tangible benefits specific to the residents, such as regional investment, wealth-building and job opportunities. Blue Grama Solar, for example, is a community solar program that requires its subscribers to live in the counties of Fulton, Henry, Knox, Mercer, Peoria, Stark or Warren counties.
Though the program has a methodical scoring process in selecting among community-driven solar applicants, ultimately, most of the applications failed to meet the requirements, leaving the selection down to just two: Blue Grama Solar and the Galesburg Airport Community Solar.
Blue Grama Solar is a ground-mounted installation with more than 8,000 solar modules, according to the developer, Nexamp. The project sits on land leased from a long-term Galesburg resident who has since moved out of the area, according to Solar Powers Illinois.
Subscriptions filled up quickly. Residents flooded the program to 99% capacity with 187 community members subscribed shortly after Blue Grama Solar became operational. Nexamp and Solar Power Illinois said they expect the project’s subscribers will save an average 15% on their overall costs.
The wave of community-driven solar projects, commenced by the Blue Grama project, and the state’s mature community solar program at large are because of the Illinois Shines program. The Prairie State first established the program in 2016 when it passed the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA), and strengthened the program in 2021 with the passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), giving muscle to the state’s solar industry.
(See also: For rooftop, community solar, ‘we’re all for it,’ ComEd says)
The two pieces of legislation are widely considered the catalyst to the state’s surging solar market in recent years. This year, Illinois created a third clean energy package expanding upon its CEJA and FEJA successors. The package is immense, and would create a Storage for All program, a Solar Bill of Rights, virtual power plant programs, among many other initiatives.
Among the powerhouse of changes CEJA made, the legislation created three new project categories to Illinois Shines, one of which was for a community-driven solar program. Illinois Shines provides one upfront payment for the solar renewable energy credits (RECs) that the system is expected to produce over 15 years.
With the new type of community solar officially in the project mix, providers and subscribers should communicate whether a project is a community-driven or a traditional community solar project, especially if local benefits might be important to the subscriber.
Since CEJA created the new type of program under Illinois Shines, the Illinois Commerce Commission has approved 97 community-driven solar projects to date, which have an average REC price of $77.62. The Solar Shines program’s REC incentive is limited in availability and the REC rate slightly decreases each year.
The 90-day application window for the 2025 to 2026 program year is currently open and closes Sept. 2, 2025. This year’s program has a 91.1 MW cap, however, 52 MW of the cap will be allocated to the last year’s waitlist. The program has a higher threshold for programs that are eligible to be placed on a waitlist, so projects are not necessarily guaranteed a spot. An up-to-date dashboard of the capacity of submitted projects, allocated projects, and waitlisted projects for each category of Illinois Shines projects is available here.
For those interested in designing a community-driven solar project or are are looking to introduce a program in their state using Illinois as a model, Illinois Shines offers an extensive library of information related to the program’s policies, applicants, and its generation, such as:
- 2025-26 Program Year Guidebook
- Final 2025-26 REC Prices
- REC Payment Calculator for 2025-26 REC Prices
- Current Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan
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