A project located in a COOP region can qualify to participate in the Indexed REC RFP. Such a project must meet the requirements in Sections IV and V of the Indexed REC RFP Rules. Please note, any Brownfield Site Photovoltaic Project must meet such definition in Section 1.9 of the Indexed REC Contract and be located in Illinois, and any Utility-Scale Wind or Utility-Scale Solar Projects must meet such definitions in Section 1.107 and 1.108 of the Indexed REC Contract and be located in Illinois or an adjacent state.

In addition, please see Indexed REC FAQs 16 and 5 for additional information.

‘The selected projects in the Summer 2023 Indexed REC Procurement Results, dated June 29, 2023 are different projects from the selected projects in the Fall 2022 Indexed REC Procurement Results, dated December 15, 2022.

In accordance with Section 16-111.5(h) of the Illinois Public Utilities Act, the following information is made public at the time of Commission approval of a procurement event under the Indexed REC Procurement: (i) the names of successful bidders; (ii) the average of the winning bid prices for each contract type and contract duration; (iii) the address and nameplate capacity of the new renewable energy generating facility; and (iv) the business address and contact information for each successful bidder. The Procurement Administrator cannot confirm or provide additional details on the winning Projects.

The Seller must submit the reports required by Section 6.4 Minimum Equity Standard of the Indexed REC Contract to the IPA using the IPA’s online MES Compliance Plan Form. A separate report must be filed for each Project.

Two electronic methods of payment, ACH or E-Pay, will be accepted by the IPA for the payment of the required supplier fees. The Procurement Administrator will distribute detailed instructions for payment of the supplier fees to Bidders that have Bids approved by the ICC. The ICC renders its decision on the results of the Summer 2023 Indexed REC procurement on Thursday, June 29, 2023.

The amount of the Performance Assurance is defined in Section 7.1 of the Indexed REC Contract. “The amount of such Seller’s Performance Assurance shall be equal to the positive difference, if any, between: (a) the Collateral Requirement (or Increased Collateral Requirement, if applicable); and (b) the Collateral Threshold, rounded up to the nearest $10,000, as estimated by Buyer (“Performance Assurance Amount”).”

For an entity that is not eligible for unsecured credit under the Indexed REC Contract, Collateral Requirement means, (a) with respect to a Utility-Scale Wind Project, an amount equal to four dollars ($4) times the Annual Quantity and which shall be reduced for the last Delivery Year, if applicable, to reflect an amount equal to the product of the Delivery Year Requirement for the last Delivery Year and four dollars ($4); provided that if the Collateral Requirement is calculated to be less than $20,000, then the Collateral Requirement shall be $20,000; and means, (b) with respect to a Utility-Scale Solar Project or a Brownfield Site Photovoltaic Project, an amount equal to ten dollars ($10) times the Annual Quantity and which shall be reduced for the last Delivery Year, if applicable, to reflect an amount equal to the product of the Delivery Year Requirement for the last Delivery Year and ten dollars ($10); provided that if the Collateral Requirement is calculated to be less than $20,000, then the Collateral Requirement shall be $20,000. A Seller with a Project with an approved Bid must meet the creditworthiness requirements under the Indexed REC Contract within eight (8) business days of the Illinois Commerce Commission decision on the results of the procurement event.

The IPA does not review draft Project Labor Agreements or approve elements of a  reporting requirement or required document before the such report or document has been submitted. Please note that the Seller is responsible for understanding and complying with the requirements of the Indexed REC Contract, even where a contractor or subcontractor will be the party ultimately performing the complying action. Solely including a provision in a contract for an EPC requiring that the EPC negotiate a PLA is not sufficient. The Seller must submit PLA itself to the Agency Director for approval.

As required by Section 1-75(c)(1)(Q)(2) of the IPA Act, the Project must be built by General Contractors that have entered into a Project Labor Agreement prior to construction. That Project Labor Agreement shall be filed with the Director of the IPA, who shall determine whether the Project Labor Agreement meets the requirements of the IPA Act and the Project Labor Agreements Act. Those requirements are outlined below. Any determination made by the IPA will be provided after such executed Project Labor Agreement is submitted per the timeline set forth in Section 6.3 of the Indexed REC contract.

As noted in the IPA’s 2022 Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan, “as a project labor agreement is a private agreement between a project developer and a labor organization entered into with both parties’ acquiescence, and as the IPA Act does not direct the Agency to develop qualitative project labor agreement standards, the Agency does not believe that it can or should generally develop minimum project labor agreement terms for that agreement to satisfy Section 1-75(c)(1)(Q)(2)’s requirements. However, a labor organization and the general contractor building the project shall have the authority to include other terms and conditions as they deem necessary.”

Under Section 1-75(c)(1)(Q)(2) of the IPA Act, the project labor agreement must provide “the names, addresses, and occupations of the owner of the [Project] and the individuals representing the labor organization employees participating in the project labor agreement consistent with the Project Labor Agreements Act.”

Section 1-10 of the IPA Act outlines specific additional elements required in a Project Labor Agreement under the Act, including:

• “provisions establishing the minimum hourly wage for each class of labor organization employee;
• provisions establishing the benefits and other compensation for each class of labor organization employee;
• provisions establishing that no strike or disputes will be engaged in by the labor organization employees;
• provisions establishing that no lockout or disputes will be engaged in by the general contractor building the project; and
• provisions for minorities and women, as defined under the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act, setting forth goals for apprenticeship hours to be performed by minorities and women and setting forth goals for total hours to be performed by underrepresented minorities and women.”

Additionally,  as proposed by the IPA in Docket No. 22-0231 and affirmed by the Commission in approving the Plan, “project labor agreement submittals must also include a description of the efforts the entity will take or has taken to achieve such goals, including recruitment of minorities and women into apprenticeship roles.” Thus, simply including goals for hours worked by minorities and women is not sufficient; those goals must also be supported by planned efforts to meet such goals.

Please review Section 1.80 and Section 6.3 of the Indexed REC Contract for more information about the reporting requirements related to the Project Labor Agreement.

No, under the Indexed REC Contract not all RECs generated by the Project are eligible for payment. These ineligible RECs include but are not limited to those outlined in Section 2.3(f) of the Indexed REC Contract;

• RECs outside of the Acceptable Vintage Period (2.1(c))
• RECs transferred in excess of the Maximum Contract Quantity (4.1(f))
• any RECs generated by the Project in excess of the Delivery Year Requirement for any Delivery Year (4.1(i))
• unpaid RECs pursuant to Section 5.4
• or any other inadvertent REC transfers

Should you bid and win in the RFP, a schedule will be included in the Product Order of the Indexed REC Contract that will specify the Delivery Year Requirement for each of the Delivery Years. The Delivery Year Requirement is the maximum number of RECs that is eligible for payment purposes in a Delivery Year, provided that for the last Delivery Year, the Delivery Year Requirement shall be reduced to be the greatest quantity of RECs that would not cause the Maximum Contract Quantity to be exceeded.

Further, please note that only RECs transferred pursuant to the Standing Order are eligible for payment. Please note that the Project Committed Percentage shall be confirmed by Seller when Seller initiates the Standing Order request within PJM EIS GATS or M-RETS pursuant to section 2.3(b)(i) of the Indexed REC Contract, and such Project Committed Percentage may not be amended subsequent to the initial establishment of the Standing Order. Please also see FAQ-Indexed REC-54 and FAQ-Indexed-REC-59 for related information about the Delivery Year Requirement and project size changes.

Please use the Supplier Request Form and Vendor Request Form provided in the Bid Assurance Collateral Instructions distributed for Summer 2023 Indexed REC RFP. Updated Supplier Request Forms are provided by the Companies before each solicitation and the Bidder must complete the Supplier Request Forms for each solicitation per Bid Assurance Collateral Instructions provided with the Part 1 Notification.

First, if you bid and win in the RFP, the RECs from your winning Project will be allocated by the Procurement Administrator to the Companies in pre-specified proportions (27.793% to AIC, 71.925% to ComEd, and 0.282% to MEC). As such, it is contemplated that you will sign three contracts, one with each of AIC, ComEd and MEC.

Second, the annual quantity that you bid and win in the RFP will be the “RFP Awarded Annual Quantity” in each of the Indexed REC Contract. The Annual Quantity in a contract will reflect the portion of the RFP Awarded Annual Quantity allocated to such contract. The Maximum Contract Quantity will be equal to the Annual Quantity indicated in such contract multiplied by 20.

Bids are not submitted with the online Part 2 Form by the Part 2 Date. A Bidder must submit the Part 2 Proposal, excluding Bids, to the Procurement Administrator by 12 PM (noon) on the Part 2 Date. The Bidder’s Bids must be received between 10 AM and 12 PM (noon) on the Bid Date. The Bid Form, as provided to each Bidder by the Procurement Administrator with the Part 1 Notification, is the exclusive method for submitting a Bidder’s Bids.

The Bidder must provide in the online Part 2 Form an indicative quantity of RECs for the Project that represents what the Bidder intends to offer as the full quantity. This indicative quantity of RECs is specified as an annual quantity of RECs. The indicative quantity provided in this section is not binding in that the Bidder may place a Bid on the Bid Date that specifies a full quantity that is different from the indicative quantity submitted in this section, provided that such full quantity in the Bid does not exceed the Maximum Bid Size.

Each Seller is asked, but is not required, to provide all information necessary for the preparation of the Indexed REC Contract by each of the Companies with the Part 2 Proposal. A Seller that has named a Guarantor in the Part 1 Proposal is also asked to provide all information necessary for ComEd to prepare the Guaranty. The Bidder submits all information necessary for the preparation of the Indexed REC Contracts by fully completing the Contract Insert (#P2-5) prepared for this purpose.

If a Bidder fails to submit the Contract Insert and if the Procurement Administrator notifies the Bidder that the Bid on the Project is being identified as a winning Bid to the Commission, then the Procurement Administrator will require the Contract Insert to be provided by 12 PM (noon) on the day after the Bidder is notified that the Bid on the Project is identified as a winning Bid to the Commission. This deadline is the following business day, Monday, June 26, 2023.

Yes, you may use any of the modifications included in the final lists of acceptable modifications posted to the procurement website. It is acceptable to use multiple approved modifications from the final lists of acceptable modifications posted to the procurement website. In some cases it may be required to use multiple approved modifications together. In these cases, there will be a note provided with the approved modification within the final list.

A Pre-Bid Letter of Credit – Electronic Version must be sent directly to the email addresses provided in the standard form by the Issuing Bank.

Neither the Procurement Administrator nor the Companies review draft versions of Pre-Bid Letters of Credit. However, upon request the Procurement Administrator can confirm the amount of bid assurance collateral required to be posted with each company given the Project size.

If the submitted Pre-Bid Letter of Credit for any of the Companies, in its current format, is not acceptable to the Company, the Procurement Administrator will provide a deficiency notice requesting an amendment to your Pre-Bid Letter of Credit and will provide a deadline for receipt of such amendment. Information regarding processing of Part 2 Proposal materials is also posted to the Final Materials page of the Indexed Wind, Solar, and Brownfield section of the procurement website: https://www.ipa-energyrfp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Indexed-REC-RFP_Part-2-Proposal-Processing_28-APR-2023.pdf

Sellers’ Performance Assurance is due within eight (8) business days after the Illinois Commerce Commission decision and must be maintained throughout the entire term of the Indexed REC Contract, regardless of whether it is in the form of cash or letters of credit.

No, as stated in Section IV.2.2 of the RFP Rules, once the Part 1 Proposal is complete, the size of the Project cannot be changed for purposes of the Part 2 Proposal. For avoidance of doubt, the restriction to size changes is limited from the time the Part 1 Proposal is complete through the fourteen (14) business days after the anticipated date of the Commission decision on the procurement event; and there is no prohibition to Project size changes during the term of the Indexed REC Contract.

While there is no prohibition under the Indexed REC Contract for size changes, we note the following: (i) if the Project is a utility-scale project, the Project size must be greater than 5 MW (AC rating), (ii) if the Project is a utility-scale project, at least 50% of the Project must be located within the physical location identified in the Site Description in the Product Order, (iii) if the Project is a utility-scale project and the Project is proposed to be located in an Energy Transition Community Grant Area (“ETCGA”) under the RFP, the Project must be entirely located within the ETCGA proposed in the RFP as identified in the Site Description in the Product Order; (iv) if the Project is a Brownfield Site Photovoltaic Project, the Project must be entirely located within the physical location identified in the description of the Project Site in the Product Order, (v) the Annual Quantity in each Indexed REC Contract is a binding obligation, and is used to measure performance under the Contract, and an Event of Default shall be deemed to occur if three (3) or more Shortfall Years occurred, and the cumulative sum of the Shortfall Amounts across all Shortfall Years equals or exceeds in Annual Quantity under the Indexed REC Contract, and (vi) the Project Committed Percentage shall be confirmed by Seller when Seller initiates the Standing Order request within PJM EIS GATS or M-RETS pursuant to section 2.3(b)(i) of the Indexed REC Contract, and such Project Committed Percentage may not be amended subsequent to the initial establishment of the Standing Order.

A Minimum Equity Standard of 10% will apply under the Indexed REC Contract to a Project selected through this RFP if the Date of First Operation is on or after December 15, 2022, regardless of whether the project is located in Illinois or an Adjacent State.

An “Equity Eligible Persons” means persons who would most benefit from equitable investments by the State designed to combat discrimination, specifically: (a) persons who graduate from or are current or former participants in the Clean Jobs Workforce Network Program, the Clean Energy Contractor Incubator Program, the Illinois Climate Works Pre-apprenticeship Program, Returning Residents Clean Jobs Training Program, or the Clean Energy Primes Contractor Accelerator Program, and the solar training pipeline and multi-cultural jobs program created in paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(3) of Section 16-108.12 of the Public Utilities Act; (b) persons who are graduates of or currently enrolled in the foster care system; (c) persons who were formerly incarcerated; (d) persons whose primary residence is in an Equity Investment Eligible Community as defined in Section 1-10 of the IPA Act.

As defined in the Indexed REC Contract, “Project Workforce” means employees, contractors and their employees, and subcontractors and their employees whose job duties are directly required by or substantially related to the development, construction, and operation of the Project that is participating in the IPA-administered programs and procurements under Section 1-75(c) of the IPA Act. This shall include both project installation workforce and workforce in administrative, sales, marketing, and technical roles where those workers’ duties are directly related to the Project subject to the following. Persons working in administrative, sales, marketing and technical roles, shall be included in the project workforce only if their duties are related to the Project and performed in Illinois. The project installation workforce shall be included in the “Project Workforce” and must meet the MES regardless of location.

Please note, CEJA provides that the Agency may utilize its discretion in rare circumstances to grant a waiver of the MES (20 ILCS 3855/1-75(c-10)(4)(E)).  In describing the criteria for granting such a waiver, the statute provides that the Agency may do so “where the applicant provides evidence of significant efforts toward meeting the minimum equity commitment, including: use of the Energy Workforce Equity Database; efforts to hire or contract with entities that hire eligible persons; and efforts to establish contracting relationships with eligible contractors.” (20 ILCS 3855/1-75(c-10)(4)(E) (emphasis added)). The IPA posted waiver request forms to the Minimum Equity Standard webpage here:  https://ipa.illinois.gov/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/minimum-equity-standard.html. As described in the waiver request form, requestors must receive at least 20 points to qualify for a waiver.

For additional information on the Minimum Equity Standard please refer to the posted MES FAQs here or the IPA’s Energy Workforce Equity Portalhere and their MES page here.

In regards to your question please note the following, i) the Delivery Year Requirement for Delivery Year 0 shall apply if the Earliest Vintage Month is not June. The Delivery Year Requirement for Delivery Year 0 is not applicable if the Earliest Vintage Month is June, ii) pursuant to Section 4.1(f) of the Agreement, Seller’s failure to Deliver the Delivery Year Requirement for Delivery Year 0 and Delivery Year 1 shall be excused, and such Delivery Year shall not be a Shortfall Year and such amount of RECs that Seller fails to Deliver to satisfy the Delivery Year Requirement shall not constitute a Shortfall Amount, and iii) pursuant to Section 4.1(f) of the Agreement, if in the last Delivery Year, the Delivery Year Requirement is greater than the quantity of RECs to meet the Maximum Contract Quantity, then the Delivery Year Requirement for the last Delivery Year shall be reduced to be the greatest quantity of RECs that would not cause the Maximum Contract Quantity to be exceeded.

In the example table, the sum of the Delivery Year Requirements is greater than the Maximum Contract Quantity because it includes the Delivery Year Requirement from Delivery Year 0 in addition to the Delivery Years 1-20. But, the Delivery Year 0 will only apply if the Projects Earliest Vintage month is not June, in which case, pursuant to Section 4.1(f) of the Agreement, if in Delivery Year 20, the Delivery Year Requirement is greater than the quantity of RECs to meet the Maximum Contract Quantity, then the Delivery Year Requirement for Delivery Year 20 shall be reduced to be the greatest quantity of RECs that would not cause the Maximum Contract Quantity to be exceeded.

In addition, please note the Contract allows for the Delivery of RECs from an Acceptable Vintage Period, starting with the Earliest Vintage Month, of a maximum total period of 241 months (excluding any Suspension Periods). For example, if the Latest Vintage Month is May 2045, then the Delivery Term shall end on August 31, 2045 so as to accommodate the Delivery of RECs associated with the last month of the Acceptable Vintage Period. As such, any RECs generated from the Project within the Acceptable Vintage period may be eligible for payment and delivery under the Indexed REC Contract, subject to the quantity caps of the Delivery Year Requirement in a given Delivery Year, and the Maximum Contract quantity across the Contract Term.

The Delivery Year Requirement calculation, set forth in Section 1.28 of the Indexed REC Contract, was implemented as a part of the Indexed REC Contract in response to Stakeholder feedback from Spring 2022. This was done to allow for the required amount of RECs delivered to take into account the annual adjustments for the degradation of solar panels.

Yes, the Bidder may request to confirm the sufficient amount of Bid Assurance Collateral required to post to each Company, given the Project size, by email to the Procurement Administrator.

Under the Indexed REC Contract for the Summer 2023 Indexed REC RFP, the Delivery Year Requirements are greater than the Annual Quantity in the early Delivery Years, as the Indexed REC Contract accounts for degradation of the Project in the calculation of the Delivery Year Requirement. With respect to utility-scale solar projects and brownfield site photovoltaic projects, the Delivery Year Requirement for each Delivery Year will feature a degradation factor of 0.5% annually. The Delivery Year Requirement calculation is set forth in Section 1.28 of the Indexed REC Contract. The degradation adjustment described in the foregoing is only applicable to utility scale solar and brownfield site photovoltaic projects, not utility scale wind projects.

A 20-year schedule indicating the Delivery Year Requirement for each Delivery Year will be provided in the Product Order of the Indexed REC Contract for each winning project. Please note that while the Seller must deliver a quantity of RECs that meets the Delivery Year Requirement in each deliver year,  the failure to meet any Delivery Year Requirement through the first full Delivery Year (i.e., first full June through May period as well as any prior stub period) shall not constitute a Shortfall Amount. As described in Section 9.2 it is an event of default under the Indexed REC Contract if: (i) Seller fails to meet the Delivery Year Requirement for three (3) or more years, and (ii) the Shortfall Amounts (as the term is defined in the Indexed REC Contract) cumulatively equals or exceeds the annual quantity.

If a Bidder posts bid assurance collateral and does not submit a Bid, the full amount of the bid assurance collateral will be returned within the timeframes provided in the Indexed REC RFP. All bid assurance collateral remains in place until the Commission has rendered a decision on the results of the procurement event. The Commission renders its decision on the results of the procurement event on Thursday, June 29, 2023.

A Pre-Bid Letter of Credit will expire on the date stated as part of its terms, fourteen (14) business days after the anticipated date of the Commission decision on the procurement event and cash provided as bid assurance collateral will be returned in the same general timeframe. Please note that the return of cash tendered as bid assurance to a Company is not initiated until the Company receives an executed request in a form acceptable to the Company and, for AIC, until a Supplier Request Form is received that AIC finds to be duly completed and, for MEC, until a Vendor Request Form is received that MEC finds to be duly completed.

If a Bidder qualifies a Project pursuant to a successful Part 1 Proposal, the Procurement Administrator transmits to the Bidder, using a secure electronic method, a Part 1 Notification as well as some documents necessary for the Bidder’s continued participation in the RFP. The Part 1 Notification will be transmitted by the Part 1 Notification Date, Thursday, June 01, 2023.

The Summer 2023 Indexed REC RFP for new utility-scale wind projects, new utility-scale solar projects, and new brownfield site photovoltaic projects is currently ongoing. Please see the Calendar posted on the procurement website for deadlines regarding the Summer 2023 procurement event.

Please note that while a Fall 2023 Indexed REC RFP has not been scheduled at this time, the IPA’s Final 2022 Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan (“2022 Long-Term Plan”) states that “With this 2022 Long-Term Plan being approved in July 2022, the Agency expects to conduct the 2022 procurements late in the calendar year to allow for time to implement any changes to the procurement requirements resulting from the approval of this plan. For 2023, the Agency proposes to hold the procurement in late spring or early summer—and if procurement volumes are not filled, the IPA would consider holding a subsequent procurement in late 2023.”

The 2022 Long-Term Plan covers the IPA’s renewable energy resources procurement activities for 2022 and 2023. The IPA will next update the Long-Term Plan starting in 2023 for approval in 2024 to cover activities including future Indexed REC RFPs for 2024 and 2025.

Please note that Renewable Energy Credits (“RECs”) are the sole product being procured in the Indexed REC RFP. At this time, there are no RFPs planned for the procurement of bundled RECs and energy from utility-scale solar or wind projects. As discussed in Section 2.7.4.1 of the 2022 Long-Term Plan in regard to the Indexed REC pricing approach enacted under Public Act 102-0662 (the “Climate and Equitable Jobs Act”), “the Agency understands this new Indexed REC pricing approach to offer revenue certainty back to renewable energy project developers in a manner that functions similarly to a bundled fixed price REC + energy off-take agreement. In times when energy revenues are low, REC prices are high; in times when energy revenues are high, REC prices adjust downward accordingly. The end result is revenue certainty regardless of wholesale energy market conditions, hopefully solving financing and development barriers for entities seeking to develop new utility-scale wind and utility-scale solar projects under the Illinois RPS.”

A Bidder may submit a Part 1 Proposal for a Project, and later decide to not submit a Part 2 Proposal for that Project. Please email the Procurement Administrator at Illinois-RFP@nera.com with the list of Projects for which the Bidder will not be submitting a Part 2 Proposal as early as practicable and no later than the Part 2 Date, Thursday, June 15, 2023. The Procurement Administrator will refer to this list of Projects submitted by the Bidder in conjunction with the Part 2 Proposals submitted in order to determine if the Bidder has provided sufficient bid assurance collateral to all Companies.

For the Bidder to be able to submit Bids on its Project(s), the Bidder must have submitted bid assurance collateral to all Companies in an amount that is sufficient given the Project size for each of the Bidder’s Projects. If the Bidder fails to provide bid assurance collateral to one or more of the Companies or if the Bidder provides bid assurance collateral to all Companies but the amount of the bid assurance collateral for one or more of the Companies is insufficient given the Project size across all of the Bidder’s Projects, the Part 2 Proposals for all of the Bidder’s Projects will be considered deficient.

A Bidder that provides a Pre-Bid Letter of Credit as Bid Assurance Collateral to all three Companies is not required to complete the AIC Cash Insert (#P2-1), ComEd Cash Insert (#P2-2), or the MEC Cash Insert (#P2-3).

As part of the Part 2 Proposal, Bidders must complete the online Part 2 Form in its entirety, submit Bid Assurance Collateral to each Company, and submit all other documents, including Inserts, required to support the Part 2 Proposal. A Bidder that provides a Pre-Bid Letter of Credit as Bid Assurance Collateral to all three Companies is required to submit the P2 Certifications Insert (#P2-4).

The Representative Insert (#P1-1) and the Contract Insert (#P2-5) are optional at the time of the Part 2 Proposal. If the Bidder fails to submit the Contract Insert (#P2-5) and if the Procurement Administrator notifies the Bidder that the Bid on the Project is being identified as a winning bid to the Commission, the Bidder will be required to provide the Contract Insert (#P2-5) by 12PM (noon) CPT on the day after the Bidder is notified that the Bid on the Project is identified as a winning bid to the Commission.

A Company may draw upon the letter of credit or a Company may draw upon a cash deposit if: (i) the Bidder or a Seller has disclosed information relating to the Proposal for a Project publicly or to any other party (excluding disclosures required by a federal, state, or local agency, or by a court of competent jurisdiction) before the Illinois Commerce Commission has rendered its decision on the results of the procurement event; or (ii) the Bidder or a Seller has made a material omission or misrepresentation in the Part 1 Proposal or the Part 2 Proposal for a Project submitted in connection with the procurement event; or (iii) a Seller has failed to execute the applicable supplier contract for a Project within three (3) business days of being notified that the Illinois Commerce Commission has approved the Bid on that Project or has failed to meet the creditworthiness requirements of the applicable supplier contract within eight (8) business days of such Illinois Commerce Commission decision; or (iv) the Bidder or a Seller has failed to pay to the Illinois Power Agency the applicable Supplier Fee for a Project within seven (7) business days of being notified that the Illinois Commerce Commission has approved the Bid on that Project.

The Bidder must provide in the online Part 2 Form an indicative quantity of RECs for the Project that represents what the Bidder intends to offer as the full quantity. This indicative quantity of RECs is specified as an annual quantity of RECs. The indicative quantity provided in this section is not binding in that the Bidder may place a Bid on the Bid Date that specifies a full quantity that is different from the indicative quantity submitted in this section, provided that such full quantity in the Bid does not exceed the Maximum Bid Size.

The evaluation of bids proceeds independently for each Category as described in paragraph I.2.11. of the RFP Rules. In the first step, for a given Category, the evaluation of bids eliminates the bids with strike prices that fail to meet or beat the benchmark. Benchmarks are established by the Procurement Administrator, in consultation with the IPA, the Procurement Monitor, and the ICC Staff. The benchmarks are confidential and are subject to review and approval by the ICC. Please see Appendix 15 for more information on the evaluation process.

No, the Bidder is not required to be an approved vendor. The approved vendor concept is specific to the IPA’s Adjustable Block Program and Illinois Solar for All.

If the Seller is an Equity Eligible Contractor and has already been approved by the IPA as an Equity Eligible Contractor through the Adjustable Block Program, the Bidder must provide evidence of such approval by email to the Procurement Administrator or by upload to the application website, no additional approval process is required to be qualified as an Equity Eligible Contractor.

A Project that first started operations on or before June 1, 2017 is not eligible to participate in this RFP. If the Project is operational as of the submission of the Part 1  Proposal, the Date of First Operation of the Project must be provided and such date cannot have occurred on or before June 1, 2017.

The RECs from each Project selected through this RFP will be allocated by the Procurement Administrator to the Companies in pre-specified proportions (27.318% to AIC, 72.445% to ComEd, and 0.237% to MEC).

All bid assurance collateral remains in place until the Commission has rendered a decision on the results of the procurement event. If the Bid for a Project is selected by the evaluation procedure and approved by the Commission, bid assurance collateral remains in place until full execution of the Indexed REC Contract and posting of any required Performance Assurance, and until payment of the Supplier Fee is received. The Commission renders its decision on the results of the procurement event on Thursday, June 29, 2023.

If the Bid for a Project is not selected by the evaluation procepostdure, the bid assurance collateral for that Project will be returned as stated in Section VI.2.19 of the RFP Rules, “A Pre-Bid Letter of Credit will expire on the date stated as part of its terms, fourteen (14) business days after the anticipated date of the Commission decision on the procurement event and cash provided as bid assurance collateral will be returned in the same general timeframe”.

Please note, that Cash posted as bid assurance collateral under the RFP may be used to meet the performance assurance requirement under the contract without needing to post additional cash separately. A Bidder must indicate whether it elects for cash to be retained by the applicable Company in the Contract Insert, is also labelled INSERT #P2-5, further described in Paragraph V.4.2.

Please see paragraph V.2.2. of the Indexed REC RFP Rules for the conditions under which a draw on cash posted as bid assurance collateral may be made.

The amount of bid assurance collateral required for a Project is determined separately for each Company as detailed below. As described in Paragraphs V.2.3 and V.2.5, a Bidder that submits Proposals for multiple Projects may post bid assurance collateral by effecting a single wire transfer to each Company or a single PreBid Letter of Credit to each Company for all Projects. In this case, to determine the amount of bid assurance collateral across all Projects, for each Company the amount of bid assurance collateral for each Project should be calculated as described below and then the amounts, each already rounded up to the nearest $100, should be summed across all Projects.

• The amount of bid assurance collateral required for AIC is $1,600/MW for a Wind Project and $5,500/MW for a Solar Project and Brownfield Project.
• The amount of bid assurance collateral required for ComEd is $4,000/MW for a Wind Project and $13,000/MW for a Solar Project and Brownfield Project.
• The amount of bid assurance collateral required for MEC is $400/MW for a Wind Project and $1,000/MW for a Solar Project and Brownfield Project.

For the Bidder to be able to submit Bids on its Project(s), the Bidder must have submitted bid assurance collateral to all Companies in an amount that is sufficient given the Project size for each of the Bidder’s Projects. There is no longer a cap on the amount of bid assurance collateral tendered to each utility.

In accordance with Section V.3. of the RFP Rules, as a necessary part of preparing the Proposal, the Seller may discuss material information relating to the Proposal with the Bidder, with Owners, or with other Sellers whose Projects are presented by the Bidder. Furthermore, the Seller or Bidder may communicate with a financial institution for purposes of arranging posting of bid assurance collateral; may communicate with contractors, subcontractors, or other parties for purposes of meeting labor related requirements; and may communicate with advisors. Other than such communications with the parties named in this paragraph, the Officer of the Seller must certify that “the Seller has no knowledge of any Proposal submitted by another Bidder in response to this RFP” and “with the exception of communications: (i) with Owners, (ii) with other Sellers whose Projects are presented by the Bidder, (iii) with a financial institution for the purpose of arranging payment of the bid assurance collateral, (iv) with contractors, subcontractors, and other parties for purposes of meeting labor related requirements, (v) with advisors (if any), or (vi) for the purpose of complying with disclosure requirements imposed on the Bidder or Seller, neither the Seller nor the Bidder has disclosed, and will otherwise disclose, publicly or to any other party any information relating to its Proposal, which could have an effect on whether another party submits a Proposal for this procurement event, or on the contents of such Proposal that another Bidder would be willing to submit. Such information includes but is not limited to: the fact that the Bidder is submitting a Proposal for this procurement event; the Bids for the Project; the Seller’s estimation of the value of RECs; and the Seller’s estimation of the risks associated with providing RECs under the terms of the Indexed REC Contract. This certification must hold until the Commission has rendered its decision on the results of the procurement event”.  The Officer of the Seller makes such certifications by completing the P2 Certifications Insert (Insert #P2-4).

Based on the information provided your question, it appears that the Seller would not be able to make the required certifications in the Part 2 Proposal, and in particular, would be unable to certify that “neither the Seller nor the Bidder has disclosed, and will otherwise disclose, publicly or to any other party any information relating to its Proposal, which could have an effect on whether another party submits a Proposal for this procurement event, or on the contents of such Proposal that another Bidder would be willing to submit. Such information includes but is not limited to: the fact that the Bidder is submitting a Proposal for this procurement event”.

Other required certifications include “the Seller has no knowledge of any Proposal submitted by another Bidder in response to this RFP and the Seller is bidding independently.”

The Procurement Administrator posted the presentation materials and the audio recording from the bidder information webcast held on May 2, 2023 to the Final Materials page of the Indexed Wind, Solar, and Brownfield section of the website.

Under Section 6.4 of the Indexed REC Contract, to demonstrate compliance with the MES the following reports must be submitted to the IPA for each delivery year for which Construction Activities have been performed or will be performed;

1. MES Compliance Plan. The first MES Compliance Plan shall be submitted to the IPA within thirty (30) days of the Commission Bid Approval Date, if applicable. Subsequently, at the beginning of each delivery year, and no later than July 15 of such delivery year, Seller shall submit to the IPA an MES Compliance Plan demonstrating how Seller will achieve compliance with the Minimum Equity Standard in such delivery year. The MES Compliance Plan shall include: (a) a narrative description of how Seller will meet the Minimum Equity Standard and a statement of intent to comply with equity accountability standards for the applicable delivery year and to hire a diverse project workforce including Equity Eligible Persons and Equity Eligible Contractors; (b) projected number of workers and the demographic breakdown by race, gender, and participation in job training or workforce development programs, or other means of compliance with the standard for Equity Eligible Persons; (c) plans for the use of Equity Eligible Contractors, if Posted: April 28, 2023 29 applicable; (d) Seller classification (i.e., Minority-owned, Woman-owned, Disabled-owned, Veteran-owned, Small Business, etc.), if applicable; (e) communication plan for local outreach to increase the utilization of Equity Eligible Persons and Equity Eligible Contractors; and (f) status of any corrective actions or adjustments from the prior delivery year’s MES Compliance Plan.
2. Mid-Year MES Confirmation. No later than December 1 of each delivery year, Seller shall provide to the IPA a statement confirming that Seller is on track to meet the Minimum Equity Standard and that there exist no impediments for Seller to meet the Minimum Equity Standard for such delivery year. If Seller is unable to provide such confirmation, Seller shall explain why it is unable to meet the Minimum Equity Standard for such delivery year. The Mid-Year MES Confirmation shall be submitted to IPA via email at the email address provided in Exhibit B.
3. MES Report. After the conclusion of a delivery year for which Construction Activities have been performed, and no later than July 15 immediately succeeding such delivery year, Seller shall submit to the IPA an MES Report. The first MES Report shall be submitted to the IPA no later than July 15, 2024. The MES Report shall include data on actual performance compared to the information previously submitted as well as any major differences from the previously submitted MES Compliance Plan for such delivery year. These differences could include information such as new and innovative ways to provide employment opportunities to low-income participants and residents within the environmental justice communities.

The IPA encourages applicants to utilize all possible means for identifying, recruiting, and hiring EEPs, especially those that qualify by virtue of their status as formerly incarcerated, a graduate of the foster care system, or a resident of an equity investment eligible community. The Long-Term Plan outlined several strategies that may be useful:

• Working with State-approved job training and workforce development programs to recruit a diverse workforce and provide evidence of outreach
• Maintaining applications of individuals not selected for an opening for contact regarding future project openings
• Participating in job fairs and related local community events to recruit a diverse workforce
• Advertising on various platforms of targeted social and direct outreach to appropriately-targeted associations or other relevant organizations to notify them of the project opportunity. (2022 Long-Term Plan at page 333).

The IPA cannot provide advice to bidders regarding the specifics of a recruitment strategy or point an entity toward specific organizations or events where it might recruit EEPs.

The Department of Commerce and Economic Development (“DCEO”) has awarded funding for FEJA-funded workforce training programs, the management of which passed to DCEO under CEJA. CEJA also created several new workforce training programs to be managed by DCEO, the funding for which DCEO has not yet allocated. The IPA does not expect those training programs to graduate trainees before the start of the 2023-2024 delivery year. Applicants should plan accordingly when designing their outreach plan and Compliance Plan for meeting the MES.

Please monitor the DCEO CEJA website for updates from the Department on its job training programs.

CEJA directs the IPA to develop an Energy Workforce Database in consultation with the Department of Commerce and Economic Development that consists of a searchable database of vendors, suppliers, and contractors that are minority and women-owned business enterprise certified or are certified as EECs. The IPA’s Energy Workforce Equity Portal is designed to help connect clean energy companies with Equity Eligible Persons looking to work in the clean energy sector in Illinois. Developers of clean energy projects, such as developers of utility-scale wind, utility-scale solar, and brownfield site solar projects, can use this portal to advertise clean energy jobs and to search for Equity Eligible Persons seeking employment, as Equity Eligible Persons register on the portal. Developers can also use the portal to apply to qualify as an Equity Eligible Contractor. Please visit the IPA Energy Workforce Equity Portal here.

Phase I of the portal was launched on January 31, 2023 and includes:

• Information on qualifications and requirements for job seekers to become Equity Eligible Persons.
• A form for applying to be certified as Equity Eligible Person.
• A listing of Equity Eligible Persons who have volunteered to identify themselves to potential clean energy companies.
• Information on job postings from clean energy companies for which they are recruiting Equity Eligible Persons.
• Information on workforce training programs administered by DCEO.
• Equity Investment Eligible (EIE) Community Map that can be utilized by anyone to determine if they or someone else reside in an identified equity investment eligible community.
• Information on Equity Eligible Contractors participating in the IPA’s Adjustable Block Program.
• FAQs outlining commonly asked questions and answers on the portal.
• A user guide to help clean energy companies and Equity Eligible Persons navigate the portal easily.

Phase II will be launched later in 2023 and will include additional information on workforce and job training programs, and resources and reports related to diversity and equity in the clean energy in Illinois.

The IPA hosted a training for participants to get acquainted with the portal and its various functionalities. This includes advertising jobs and searching for Equity Eligible Persons seeking employment, as they register on the portal. The training is available here.

The Energy Workforce Equity Database should serve as a tool for applicants to find EEPs, but may not include the entire universe of available EEPs seeking clean energy work, since it will only list EEPs that voluntarily add their information to the database.  The Database is still in development and applicants should not assume they will be able to rely solely on the Database to find EEPs to meet the Minimum Equity Standard.

CEJA provides that the Agency may utilize its discretion in rare circumstances to grant a waiver of the MES (20 ILCS 3855/1-75(c-10)(4)(E)).  In describing the criteria for granting such a waiver, the statute provides that the Agency may do so “where the applicant provides evidence of significant efforts toward meeting the minimum equity commitment, including: use of the Energy Workforce Equity Database; efforts to hire or contract with entities that hire eligible persons; and efforts to establish contracting relationships with eligible contractors.” (20 ILCS 3855/1-75(c-10)(4)(E) (emphasis added)). The IPA posted waiver request forms to the Minimum Equity Standard webpage here: https://ipa.illinois.gov/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/minimum-equity-standard.html. As described in the waiver request form, requestors must receive at least 20 points to qualify for a waiver.

As provided in paragraph IV.3.1. of the Final Rules for the Indexed REC Procurement Event:

• An officer of the Seller must acknowledge that if the Date of First Operation for a Project is on or after December 15, 2022, a Minimum Equity Standard of 10% applies to the project workforce for each delivery year in which construction activities are performed through the date of first operation of the project; and that there are reporting requirements described in Section 6.4 of the Indexed REC Contract.

No additional documentation or information is required at the time of bid.

No. As provided in the Indexed REC RFP Rules, only if a Bidder optionally elects to commit to an Equity Level (%) greater than the Minimum Equity Standard of 10% is a plan required at the time of bid. In this case one of the requirements includes:

[The] Bidder must provide a narrative plan to meet the Equity Level (%) provided in the Part 1 Proposal. The narrative plan must include the following items:

• a narrative description of how the Seller will ensure that at least the Equity Level (%) will be met;
• a statement of intent to comply with all necessary requirements set forth in Public Act 102-0662 relating to the Minimum Equity Standard and agreement to comply with certain obligations, including hiring a diverse project workforce and working with Equity Eligible Contractors, where applicable;
• the total projected number of workers related to Construction Activities up to the point of the Date of First Operation;
• plans for the use of Equity Eligible Contractors, if applicable;
• Seller classification (i.e., Minority-owned business enterprise, Woman-owned business enterprise, Disabled-owned business, Veteran-owned business, Small business, etc.), if applicable;
• the qualifying Equity Eligible Person category/categories the Seller seeks to hire, if known; and
• a communication plan for local outreach to increase the utilization of Equity Eligible Persons and Equity Eligible Contractors.

Many of these elements may be repeated in the eventual Compliance Plan submitted after a contract has been awarded to a selected bid. Given that the strike price for a project that submits an Equity Level (%) greater than the Minimum Equity Standard of 10% will be reduced for purposes of bid ranking, additional assurances should be provided that the Bidder will meet this commitment.

CEJA requires that applicants comply with the MES through a Compliance Plan submitted at the start of the delivery year. Section 1-75(c-10)(1)(A) directs that:

At the start of each delivery year, the Agency shall require a compliance plan from each entity participating in a procurement program of subsection (c) of this Section [1-75] that demonstrates how they will achieve compliance with the minimum equity standard percentage for work completed in that delivery year. (20 ILCS 3855/1-75(c-10)(1)(A)).

Competitive procurements are required by Section 1-75, and therefore applicants to those procurements must submit a Compliance Plan under the law.

The Compliance Plan is meant to ensure that applicants are making a concerted effort to hire EEPs and contribute to the equity goals of CEJA. The law requires participants to complete a Compliance Plan, which contains the elements outlined above, and directs the Agency to ensure that competitive procurements advance the equity goals of CEJA. As laid out by the statute, CEJA envisions the EAS as a method to create “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.” (20 ILCS 3855/1-75(c)(10)). Accounting for generations of such exclusion and disproportionate harms requires buy-in from all stakeholders and coordination between the public sector and private sector actors. The IPA hopes that all participants in competitive procurements take this policy seriously and contribute sincere efforts to creating a more equitable clean energy economy in Illinois.

The Illinois Power Agency has developed and released a virtual form for the submission of Compliance Plans by utility-scale renewable developers. The MES Compliance Plan Form is located on the IPA’s Minimum Equity Standard page and is linked here.

The 2022 Long-Term Plan, as approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission, adopts the following definition of “project workforce”:

Employees, contractors and their employees, and subcontractors and their employees, whose job duties are directly required by or substantially related to the development, construction, and operation of a project that is participating in or intended to participate in the IPA-administered programs and procurements under Section 1-75(c) of the IPA Act. This shall include both project installation workforce and workforce in administrative, sales, marketing, and technical roles where those workers’ duties are performed in Illinois. (2022 Long-Term Plan at 328).

The MES applies to the project workforce, so if the MES is 10%, EEPs must make up 10% of the project workforce. Therefore, compliance with the MES is based on number of workers or employees, not the work hours performed by those employees.

The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (“CEJA”) defines an equity eligible person as:

1. persons who graduate from or are current or former participants in the Clean Jobs Workforce Network Program, the Clean Energy Contractor Incubator Program, the Illinois Climate Works Pre-apprenticeship Program, the Returning Residents Clean Jobs Training Program, or the Clean Energy Primes Contractor Accelerator Program, and the solar training pipeline and multi-cultural jobs program created in paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(3) of Section 16-108.21 of the Public Utilities Act;
2. persons who are graduates of or currently enrolled in the foster care system;
3. persons who were formerly incarcerated; [or]
4. persons whose primary residence is in an equity investment eligible community. (20 ILCS 3855/1-10).

A person may fall into multiple categories or only one; a person does not need to have participated in a CEJA- or FEJA-funded training program in order to be an EEP if they qualify under one of the other categories.

An “equity investment eligible community” is defined by CEJA as:

1. R3 Areas as established pursuant to Section 10-40 of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, where residents have historically been excluded from economic opportunities, including opportunities in the energy sector; and
2. Environmental justice communities, as defined by the Illinois Power Agency pursuant to the Illinois Power Agency Act, where residents have historically been subject to disproportionate burdens of pollution, including pollution from the energy sector. (20 ILCS 3855/1-10).

A map of R3 Areas can be found here, a map of environmental justice communities can be found here, and a the Equity Investment Eligible Community Map that combines EJ and R3 areas can be found here.

The Minimum Equity Standard is a minimum percentage of an applicant’s project workforce that must be comprised of Equity Eligible Persons. Please see additional FAQs below for definitions of “project workforce” and “Equity Eligible Person.”

The Equity Accountability System is the umbrella suite of policy levers and standards included in the Illinois Power Agency Act that advance “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” (20 ILCS 3855/1-75(c-10)). The Equity Accountability System includes the Minimum Equity Standard (“MES”), the reserved category in the Adjustable Block Program for Equity Eligible Contractors (“EECs”), and the requirements developed by the Agency to ensure “that competitive procurement processes, including utility-scale solar, utility-scale wind, and brownfield site photovoltaic projects, advance the equity goals” of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (20 ILCS 3855/1-75(c-10(3))).

The IPA, through its 2022 Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan (“Long-Term Plan” or “Plan”), developed requirements for utility-scale projects bid into competitive procurements for indexed REC contracts that require those projects to meet the Minimum Equity Standard and provide additional prioritization for projects that employ a higher percentage of Equity Eligible Persons (“EEPs”) than that required by the MES. Thus, the MES (and the associated Compliance Plan) and the equity prioritization mechanism constitute the pieces of the Equity Accountability System applicable to bidders in competitive procurements, and those steps constitute full compliance with the Equity Accountability System.

The IPA created a Minimum Equity Standard (MES) webpage to provide the most up to date MES related documents, educational resources, and training materials related to MES Compliance Plans and waiver requests. Please visit the IPA Minimum Equity Standard webpage here: https://ipa.illinois.gov/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/minimum-equity-standard.html

In particular, the IPA posted an MES Compliance and Waiver Request Training Presentation applicable to utility-scale solar and wind projects under the header “MES Educational Resources”.

The current list of Equity Eligible Contractors is available here: Find an Approved Vendor – Illinois Adjustable Block Program (illinoisabp.com)

Please RSVP and provide the number of phone connections needed using this LINK or by emailing the Procurement Administrator at Illinois-RFP@nera.com with the subject line “Summer 2023 Indexed REC RFP Webcast RSVP” with the number of phone connections needed. Call-in information will be provided to respondents on the morning of the webcast.

The Summer 2023 Indexed REC RFP Webcast planned for Tuesday, May 2, 2023 is an informational webcast open to all prospective bidders that will provide an overview of the terms of the Indexed REC Contract and the RFP Process and Rules including qualification requirements. Time is scheduled for questions.  The final documents for the Summer 2023 Indexed REC RFP will be issued on April 28, 2023.

The process to provide comments on, or propose modifications to, each of the Standard Pre-Bid Letters of Credit and Standard Post-Bid Letters of Credit does not include a negotiation period to discuss directly with a Company or the Procurement Administrator.

The process during the Part 1 Window proceeds generally as follows. The Bidder provides comments and proposes modifications from their financial institutions exclusively by submitting a redline of the Standard Pre-Bid Letters of Credit and Standard Post-Bid Letters of Credit in Microsoft Word format. The submission from the Bidder is redacted for any identifying information and provided to the applicable Company for review. Once the Company has completed the review, the Procurement Administrator will provide a response directly to the Bidder noting whether each proposed modification is acceptable or not acceptable to the applicable Company. Any one of a Bidder’s comments or proposed modifications may result in an addition to the list of approved by the Company for use by all Bidders on an optional basis. The final list of acceptable modifications will be posted by the opening of the Part 2 Window.

If the Project is a Utility-Scale Solar Project or a Utility-Scale Wind Project and the Project site is located entirely within an Energy Transition Community Grant Area identified in Appendix 16 to the RFP Rules, then the Project will qualify for the bid evaluation price reduction described in paragraph I.2.11 of the DRAFT Summer 2023 Indexed REC RFP Rules. A Brownfield Site Photovoltaic Project does not qualify.

Paragraph IV.4.3 of the DRAFT Summer 2023 Indexed REC RFP Rules describes the Proposal requirements related to a Project located in an area that was identified by the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity as eligible to receive a grant under the Energy Transition Community Grant Program (“Energy Transition Community Grant Area”).

• The Bidder must provide the name of the Energy Transition Community Grant Area.
• The boundary of the Energy Transition Community Grant Area must be provided in the Project site map and the entirety of the Project site must be contained within that boundary.
• The Officer of the Seller must certify that the Project will be located entirely within the boundary of the Energy Transition Community Grant area named in the Part 1 Proposal.

A table with the eligible Energy Transition Community Grant Areas is provided in Appendix 16 to the RFP Rules. It is not an eligibility requirement for the applicable community to have actually applied for and received a grant under the Energy Transition Community Grant Program.

Please note that there is a comment process that will take place prior to the issuance of the FINAL Summer 2023 RFP Rules and elements may be subject to change. Please see the Calendar posted on the procurement website for deadlines regarding this comment process.

Paragraph IV.6.2 of the DRAFT Summer 2023 Indexed REC RFP Rules lists acceptable documentation to demonstrate site control. An executed option, between the Bidder (Seller or an affiliate of Seller) and the Owner or Owners, with a unilateral right to lease or purchase the Project site would be acceptable. Other documentation demonstrating a right to develop the Project on the site that meets the minimum requirements in Appendix 4 may also be submitted for review by the Procurement Administrator. Any such document must be valid through a date no earlier than July 5, 2023, which is the date at which the  Indexed REC Contracts execution formalities are expected to be completed.

Please note that there is a comment process that will take place prior to the issuance of the FINAL Summer 2023 RFP Rules and elements may be subject to change. Please see the Calendar posted on the procurement website for deadlines regarding this comment process.

No. The Indexed REC Contract provides (a) time to develop and construct the Project following the Effective Date of the contract and (b) time to Deliver the RECs once the Project is energized. The period of time for the Delivery of RECs is the “Delivery Term” under the Indexed REC Contract and starts on the date the first REC is issued for the Project by PJM-EIS GATS or M-RETS, as applicable; and ends three months after the Acceptable Vintage Period. The Acceptable Vintage period is for a period of 241 months under the Indexed REC Contract.

Please review the Indexed REC Contract for additional information.

For the Summer 2023 Indexed REC RFP, Bidders will have the opportunity to provide comments on, or propose modifications to, each of the Standard Pre-Bid Letters of Credit and Standard Post-Bid Letters of Credit for each Company with their Part 1 Proposal. The Part 1 Window opens on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 and Part 1 Proposals are due by Thursday, May 18, 2023. It is expected that requested modifications to the text of the Standard Pre-Bid and Post-Bid Letters of Credit from a Bidder’s financial institution would be submitted at this time.

The Bidder provides comments and proposes modifications exclusively by submitting a redline of the Standard Pre-Bid Letters of Credit and Standard Post-Bid Letters of Credit in Microsoft Word format. This document is provided by email or by upload to the application website. The final REC Contract and RFP documents including the final versions of the Standard Pre-Bid Letters of Credit and Standard Post-Bid Letters of Credit will be posted by April 28, 2023.

In addition, please note that the Draft Summer 2023 Indexed REC RFP Documents (including draft versions of the Standard Pre-Bid Letters of Credit) will be posted on March 30, 2023 along with an invitation to comment. The Procurement Administrator invites stakeholder feedback on any aspect of the posted documents; the deadline to provide comments on the draft documents for the second round of public comment will be April 14, 2023. In general, responses under this comment process will be made public and published on the Procurement Administrator’s website (www.ipa-energyrfp.com).

The Indexed Renewable Energy Credit Procurement Results posted December 15, 2022 contain the results from the Fall 2022 Indexed REC RFP. The results are in regard to successful suppliers and selected Projects in the Fall 2022 Indexed REC RFP only.

Information regarding the Illinois Power Agency Adjustable Block Program is not available on this website. For further information on the Adjustable Block Program please visit the website for the Illinois Power Agency Adjustable Block Program here: http://illinoisabp.com/

The Average Winning Bid Price of $72.59/MWh, provided in the Indexed REC RFP Results for Fall 2022, is an average of the winning strike price for the winning utility-scale solar and brownfield site photovoltaic projects weighted by the annual quantity of RECs awarded for each project. The Average Winning Bid Price provided in the posted results is provided in accordance with the Illinois Public Utilities Act and is the only average winning bid price available. The Procurement Administrator cannot confirm or provide additional details on the average winning bid price for Utility-Scale Solar Projects only.

The REC Monthly Price Hourly Component is calculated in the same manner for all projects. This term is defined in the Indexed REC Contract. In accordance with the Fall 2022 Indexed REC Rules and Contract, a Bidder will select an “Index Hub”, either MISO-IL Hub or PJM-NIHUB, for each Project for which a Bid is submitted in the bid form. A Bidder may choose either the MISO-IL Hub or PJM-NIHUB regardless of whether the Project is or will be interconnected with MISO or PJM. Depending on this selection, the Index Price ($/MWh), for purposes of payment under the Indexed REC Contract, is either the hourly Real-Time Locational Marginal Price for the MISO Real-Time Energy Market for the Illinois Hub, or the hourly Real-Time LMP for PJM Real-Time Energy Market for the Northern Illinois hub. Thus, a project specific PPA price cannot be used as the Index Price.

Please note that there is a comment process that will take place prior to the issuance of the Summer 2023 procurement’s RFP Rules and Contract and elements of the Fall 2022 Indexed REC Rules may be subject to change. Please see the Calendar posted on the procurement website for deadlines regarding this comment process.

A behind the meter project that would utilize a PPA can qualify to participate in the Indexed REC RFP. Such a project must meet the requirements in Sections IV and V of the Indexed REC RFP Rules.

No, under the Fall 2022 Indexed REC RFP Rules the project maturity requirements apply to all Projects. Please note that it is not a requirement for a project to have a system impact study in order to participate.

In the Part 1 Proposal, the Officer of the Seller is required to make a representation that the Project has reached the appropriate development milestones to fully expect that the Project will deliver its first REC to each Company by a date consistent with terms of the Indexed REC Contract. In the Part 1 Proposal, an RFP Bidder will also be required to provide documentation to demonstrate adequate project maturity. The RFP Bidder must provide, if available for the Project, one of the documents listed in the RFP Rules related to interconnection; however, if none of these documents is available for the Project, then the Bidder must: (i) describe the stage of development of the Project applicable to the point of interconnection and to the size of the Project; and (ii) demonstrate control for a portion of the Project site as described in Paragraph IV.6.2 of the RFP Rules.

According to Paragraph IV.6.2 of the RFP Rules, a “Bidder that demonstrates site control to meet the requirements of Paragraph IV.6.1, must do so for a portion of the Project site that covers an area of at least 40 acres times the Project size for a utility-scale wind project, an area of at least 4 acres times the Project size for a utility-scale solar project, or an area of at least 3 acres times the Project size for a brownfield site photovoltaic project.” For example, if the Project size for a utility-scale solar project is 10 MW, then the Bidder must demonstrate control for 40 acres included in the Project site.

Please note that there is a comment process that will take place prior to the issuance of the Summer 2023 procurement’s RFP Rules and Contract and elements of the Fall 2022 Indexed REC Rules may be subject to change. Please see the Calendar posted on the procurement website for deadlines regarding this comment process.

Under the Fall 2022 Indexed REC Contract the first contract start date could be as early as January 2023. The Delivery Term, as such term is defined in the Indexed REC Contract, will start on the date that the first REC is issued by PJM EIS GATS or M-RETS for the Project for a Vintage of January 2023 or a later Vintage (such month being the “Earliest Vintage Month” as defined in the Indexed REC Contract).

This Earliest Vintage Month has been updated to August 2023 within the Summer 2023 First Draft Indexed REC Contract. Please note that there is a comment process ongoing that will take place prior to the issuance of the Summer 2023 procurement’s RFP Rules and Contract and elements of the Summer 2023 First Draft Indexed REC Contract and Fall 2022 Indexed REC Rules may be subject to change. Please see the Calendar posted on the procurement website for deadlines regarding this comment process.

The latest policy guidance regarding the requirements for pre-approval from the Illinois Power Agency as to whether a Project located in a state adjacent to Illinois (Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, and Michigan) meets the public interest criteria in the Act and has been pre-approved to be eligible for Illinois RPS compliance can be found in Chapter 4.3 of the IPA’s 2022 Long-Term Renewables Resources Procurement Plan, which can be found on the IPA’s website at https://ipa.illinois.gov/renewable-resources.html.

The evaluation spreadsheet to determine whether a Project located in a state adjacent to Illinois meets the public interest criteria in the Act is available on the IPA’s website, under the header “Adjacent State Facility Eligibility” here. The completed spreadsheet must be submitted to the Illinois Power Agency by email to ipa.contactus@illinois.gov. This spreadsheet may be submitted at any time and bidders considering participation in the Summer 2023 Indexed REC RFP are encouraged to submit as soon as practicable.

A System Impact Study from PJM for the Project is sufficient to meet this requirement, regardless of whether the Project will be restudied due to PJM’s interconnection process reform.

Under the Indexed REC Fall 2022 Rules, in the Part 1 Proposal, the Officer of the Seller is required to make a representation that the Project has reached the appropriate development milestones to fully expect that the Project will deliver its first REC to each Company by a date consistent with terms of the Indexed REC Contract. In the Part 1 Proposal, an RFP Bidder will also be required to provide documentation to demonstrate adequate project maturity. The RFP Bidder must provide, if available for the Project, one of the following:

• the Queue/OASIS ID from PJM and a copy of the completed System Impact Study from PJM for the Project; or
• the Project Number from MISO and a copy of the Preliminary System Impact Study under Definitive Planning Phase 1 (“DPP 1”) under the DPP-2020-Cycle 1 or a later study cycle; or
• the Project Number from MISO and a copy of the fully executed interconnection agreement for the Project; or
• a fully executed interconnection agreement with a utility for the Project.

If none of the information bulleted above is available for the Project, or if the Bidder cannot provide a document that shows that the Project is further in the interconnection process, then the Bidder must: (i) describe the stage of development of the Project applicable to the point of interconnection and to the size of the Project; and (ii) demonstrate control for a portion of the Project site as described in Paragraph IV.6.2 of the RFP Rules.

According to Paragraph IV.6.2 of the RFP Rules, a “Bidder that demonstrates site control to meet the requirements of Paragraph IV.6.1, must do so for a portion of the Project site that covers an area of at least 40 acres times the Project size for a utility-scale wind project, an area of at least 4 acres times the Project size for a utility-scale solar project, or an area of at least 3 acres times the Project size for a brownfield site photovoltaic project.” For example, if the Project size for a brownfield site project is 10 MW, then the Bidder must demonstrate control for 30 acres included in the Project site.

The results from previous procurement events can be found on the procurement website. If you click on the “Previous RFPs” link on the left-hand side of the home page, you can find a list of previous procurements. The results are posted on each procurement’s archived page.

The results from the Fall 2022 Indexed REC RFP are linked here for your convenience.

The presentation materials and the audio recording from the stakeholder workshop held on February 15, 2023 are available on the IPA’s website, under the header “Request for Feedback on Indexed REC Procurement Structure (January 20, 2023)”.

The Average Winning Bid Price of $72.59/MWh, provided in the Indexed REC RFP Results for Fall 2022, is an average of the winning strike price for the winning utility-scale solar and brownfield site photovoltaic projects weighted by the annual quantity of RECs awarded for each project. Please note, there were no winning utility-scale wind projects in the Fall 2022 Indexed REC RFP.

Under the Illinois Public Utilities Act (220 ILCS 5/16-111.5), “For the procurement of standard wholesale products, the names of the successful bidders and the load weighted average of the winning bid prices for each contract type and for each contract term shall be made available to the public at the time of Commission approval of a procurement event. For procurements conducted to meet the requirements of subsection (b) of Section 1-56 or subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act governed by the provisions of this Section, the address and nameplate capacity of the new renewable energy generating facility proposed by a winning bidder shall also be made available to the public at the time of Commission approval of a procurement event, along with the business address and contact information for any winning bidder. An estimate or approximation of the nameplate capacity of the new renewable energy generating facility may be disclosed if necessary to protect the confidentiality of individual bid prices.”

A Project that is located in a state adjacent to Illinois may qualify to participate in the Indexed REC RFP if it meets the public interest criteria specified in Section 1-75(c)(1)(I) of the IPA Act by submitting data about the Project to the IPA and obtaining pre-approval from the IPA that the Project is eligible for Illinois RPS compliance.

The evaluation spreadsheet to determine whether a Project located in a state adjacent to Illinois (Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, and Michigan) meets the public interest criteria in the Act and has been pre-approved to be eligible for Illinois RPS compliance must be submitted to the Illinois Power Agency by email to ipa.contactus@illinois.gov . The evaluation spreadsheet dated August 15, 2022 and available on the IPA’s website, under the header “Adjacent State Facility Eligibility” here, accounts for updates described in Chapter 4 of the 2022 Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan. This updated spreadsheet dated August 15, 2022 must be used for the Summer 2023 Indexed REC RFP.

The presentation materials including the audio recording from the stakeholder workshop scheduled for Wednesday, February 15, 2023 will be available on the IPA’s website under the header “Request for Feedback Indexed REC Procurement Structure (January 20, 2023).

The strike price ($/MWh) provided by the bidder in their bid is used for purposes of payment under the Indexed REC Contract should the Project be selected by the evaluation procedure.

The next Indexed REC RFP for new utility-scale wind projects, new utility-scale solar projects, and new brownfield site photovoltaic projects is scheduled for Summer 2023. There will be multiple comment processes prior to the issuance of the Summer 2023 procurement’s RFP Rules and Contract. Final documents will be issued by Friday, April 28, 2023. Please see the Calendar posted on the procurement website for deadlines regarding the Summer 2023 procurement event.

The targets announced on the procurement website are applicable to the Summer 2023 Indexed REC RFP only.

The targets and details for a Fall 2023 Indexed REC RFP have not yet been announced. The IPA 2022 Long-Term Plan states that “With this 2022 Long-Term Plan being approved in July 2022, the Agency expects to conduct the 2022 procurements late in the calendar year to allow for time to implement any changes to the procurement requirements resulting from the approval of this plan. For 2023, the Agency proposes to hold the procurement in late spring or early summer—and if procurement volumes are not filled, the IPA would consider holding a subsequent procurement in late 2023.”

The next Indexed REC RFP for new utility-scale wind, new utility-scale solar, and new brownfield site photovoltaic projects is expected to be held in Summer 2023. A calendar will be posted shortly to the Calendar page of the procurement website and an announcement will be sent to website registrants at that time. The timeline for the Summer 2023 procurement event is expected to be in line with the timelines for procurement events held in 2022.