2024 Fall Indexed Wind, Solar, Brownfield, and Hydropower REC RFP (AIC, ComEd, and MEC)

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. Within each procurement’s archived page you can locate the procurement results.

The schedule for the Summer 2025 Indexed REC RFP is expected to be posted in early February and an announcement will be sent to the mailing list at that time. Please register to the mailing list under the Contact us page here: https://www.ipa-energyrfp.com/contact-us/register/ 

With respect to Indexed REC Contracts executed in prior Indexed REC procurement events, please see Section 9.4(a) of the Indexed REC Contract for the calculation of the Settlement Amount for an Event of Default with respect to Buyer.

Please see paragraph VI.2.16. of the RFP Rules. At the time of Commission approval of a procurement event, the names and contact information of winning Bidders, the average of the winning Bid prices, and the business address and nameplate capacity of the Project are made public. Additionally, as approved under the 2024 Long-Term Plan, the Annual Quantity of RECs for Projects selected and approved by the Commission will also be released as long as the confidentiality of individual winning Bid prices is maintained. The Public Utilities Act states that participants in the procurement process will maintain the confidentiality of all other supplier and bidding information.

Unless covered by Section 2.4(c), Article 10, or Article 11 of the Indexed REC Contract, Seller’s Performance Assurance shall not be returned. Please also see FAQ-Indexed REC-68 for information on flexibilities related to delivery under the Indexed REC Contract.

It is the responsibility of each bidder to review the terms of the Indexed REC Contract and to understand the conditions in which performance assurance under the Indexed REC Contract may be forfeited or drawn upon.  Each bidder accepts these terms as a condition of its participation in the Indexed REC RFP.

The Illinois Commerce Commission (“Commission”) is scheduled to render its decision on the procurement results on Thursday, December 5, 2024. By Tuesday, December 17, 2024, the eighth (8th) business day after the Commission approval of the procurement results, the Seller must meet the creditworthiness requirements under the Indexed REC Contracts. Failure to meet this deadline may result in forfeiture of the bid assurance collateral.

Following the Commission decision, each Company prepares and sends a partially executed electronic copy of the Indexed REC Contract and related documents to the Seller. The Companies expect to provide such documents to Seller on the same day of the Commission approval (December 5, 2024), but no later than by 12 PM (noon) on December 6, 2024.  The timeline for the execution of the Guaranty will proceed as follows:

• For MEC and AIC, a Seller wishing to rely on the financial standing of a Guarantor should provide a duly completed and executed guaranty to each of AIC and MEC by 12PM (noon) CPT on Tuesday, December 10, 2024. This is also the deadline for the Seller to execute the signature pages of the partially executed Indexed REC Contracts and related documents and send such fully executed signature pages to each Company electronically. The forms of guaranty for MEC and AIC are available in word version for you to download on the procurement website as described below. Paragraph 1 of the Guaranty has a space to indicate the guaranty amount.
• ComEd will prepare the Guaranty for the Seller to fully execute when the Company sends the partially executed Indexed REC Contracts and related documents by no later than 12PM (noon) CPT on December 6, 2024. Please note that there are additional requirements for an entity that has not been formed or organized under the laws of a state of the United States or the District of Columbia to be recognized as an acceptable Guarantor that must be met prior to executing the Guaranty. In this case, ComEd will prepare the Guaranty for the Seller only once the Seller provides to ComEd the completed additional required documentation.

The standard forms of guaranty that must be used are provided as Exhibit E-2 for AIC, Exhibit E-3 for ComEd, and Exhibit E-5 for MEC under the Indexed REC Contract. A Bidder may only incorporate the optional changes for each Company from the respective document named “(AIC) Optional Changes to the Guaranty”, “(ComEd) Optional Changes to the Guaranty”, and “(MEC) Optional Changes to the Guaranty”. These documents are posted to the Final Materials page of the Indexed Wind, Solar, Brownfield, and Hydropower section of the website under the “FINAL Fall 2024 Indexed REC Contract Documents” header here: https://www.ipa-energyrfp.com/indexed-renewables/final-materials/

For the avoidance of doubt, in regard to each Company, in the case that a Seller is relying on the financial standing of a Guarantor, if a duly complete and executed Guaranty is not provided to a Company by the deadline to post Performance Assurance Collateral, December 17, 2024, the Seller must post Performance Assurance Collateral equal to the Collateral Requirement, rounded up to the nearest $10,000, in the form of a Letter of Credit or cash by that date. Upon execution of the Guaranty, the Seller may then request for excess cash to be returned or issue an amendment to reduce the amount of the letter of credit.

The amount of the Guaranty under each contract with a Company may be up to $2,500,000.

There are several flexibilities related to delivery under the Indexed REC Contract; however, including, but not limited to:

• The Annual Quantity in the Indexed REC Contract related to a utility-scale solar project or a brownfield site photovoltaic project is subject to a degradation factor that is calculated using the Degradation Rate designated by the Bidder within the Part 2 Proposal. The Delivery Year Requirement calculation is set forth in Section 1.30 and 1.31 of the Indexed REC Contract. Please refer to the “Example of Delivery Year Requirement Calculation for Utility-Scale Solar and Brownfield Site Photovoltaic Project” spreadsheet posted to the Final Materials page of the website to calculate the Delivery Year Requirement (RECs) in each Delivery Year under an Indexed REC Contract.
• 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 two (2) full Delivery Years (i.e., first two (2) full June through May periods 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 five (5) or more years, and (ii) the Shortfall Amounts (as the term is defined in the Indexed REC Contract) cumulatively equals or exceeds two (2) times the annual quantity.
• Section 9.2(k) outlines the process for a Seller to request a waiver excusing Shortfall Amounts or a portion of such Shortfall Amounts from the IPA. Approval of waivers to Shortfall Amounts may be granted by the IPA on a case-by-case basis upon a demonstration of good cause by Seller to the satisfaction of the IPA at its sole discretion. Good cause may include long-term changes in weather patterns, serial defects in the Project’s components, and other events outside of the control of Seller that impact the Project’s ability to meet its Delivery Year Requirement. The approval of any such requests shall be at the IPA’s sole discretion.
• There is flexibility on Project size changes after contract award subject to the term of the Indexed REC Contract.
• There is an option for Seller to indicate a percent of the project’s output it elects to commit to the Buyer under the applicable Indexed REC contract so as to allow for a third party off-taker to procure a portion of the project’s output that is not committed to the Buyer under the applicable the Indexed REC contract. Please review Section 2.3(b) of the Indexed REC Contract for information regarding the Project Committed Percentage and the Standing Order.
• A process for Seller to make manual transfer of RECs to the Buyer(s) for the purpose of reducing Shortfall Amounts incurred in one or more Delivery Years, which may include RECs that were generated in excess of prior Delivery Year Requirements and RECs that were not previously committed to the Buyer(s). Please review Section 4.1(k) of the Indexed REC Contract for information regarding the manual transfer of RECs for purposes of reducing Shortfall Amounts.

You do not need to RSVP for Bidder Training. The Bidder Training consists of time set aside for Bidders to practice all aspects of the bid submission procedures. The Procurement Administrator is available at that time to answer questions regarding the completion of the Bid Form and to evaluate the Bid Form. Bidder training is done via the Procurement Administrator’s Secure Bid Transfer interface and is not conducted via a webinar.

Please have on hand the Invitation to Bidder Training, Bid Form, Confidential Information for Training (blue background), and the Bid Form Guide. These documents were distributed with the Part 1 Notification via the application website on October 31, 2024. A Bidder can access these files using the same login credentials used to access the online Part 1 and Part 2 Forms. Please see the “Documents” section.

Within the MidAmerican Energy Company (“MEC”) Vendor Request Form the address provided for the “Purchasing Site Information” section should be the location “where materials/services are sourced and purchase orders are sent”. The signatory may be any representative of the Seller that has the authority to make the certifications required by the “Vendor Information Verification” section.

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.

Paragraph 11 of the Standard Pre-Bid Letter of Credit for MEC and AIC and Paragraph 12 for ComEd requires that you name the “Bidder” and all “Sellers” providing exactly the entities identified in your Part 1 Proposal. Within the Part 1 Proposal, if the Bidder is presenting a Proposal for a single Project, the Bidder and the Seller must be the same entity.

A Bidder may request a W-9 (2024 version) for MEC by email to the Procurement Administrator.

The Indexed REC RFP is to only procure renewable energy credits from a project that is qualified and selected under the RFP. The Indexed REC Contract does not include delivery or payment for energy, capacity, or any other product related to the Project. Each Bidder is responsible for the sale of other products related to the Project including energy and capacity.

The Minimum Equity Standard (MES) applies for each delivery year in which Construction Activities are carried out through the Date of First Operation, or if the Project is a Modernized or Retooled Hydropower Project, through the Hydropower Refurbishment Completion Date. For avoidance of doubt, the MES Compliance Plan is no longer required starting with the first Delivery Year immediately after the Date of First Operation, or if the Project is a Modernized or Retooled Hydropower Project, after the Hydropower Refurbishment Completion Date.

The Project Profile Form was collected by the IPA from each winning project to provide the most current dates for when the project will begin construction and become operational. The form also included some general information and timelines relevant to the following requirements:

1. Project Labor Agreements Requirements
2. Prevailing Wage Act Requirements
3. Monthly Generation Report
4. Setting up the Standing Order

The Project Profile Form may or may not be collected on a recurring basis, as determined by the IPA.

In addition, please see FAQ-Indexed REC-9.

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 (27.09% to AIC, 72.67% to ComEd, and 0.24% to MEC). As such, it is contemplated that you will sign three contracts, one with each of AIC, ComEd and MEC.

Each Indexed REC Contract is administered separately and independently by each of Companies (each is the Buyer under each such Indexed REC Contract). As such, the Collateral Threshold amount determined in accordance with Table A in Section 7.1 of the Indexed REC Contract, and the Performance Assurance Amount, applies to each of AIC, ComEd, and MEC independently. However, if the Seller or Seller’s Guarantor is a party to one or more additional REC purchase agreements with a Buyer, then the Seller or Seller’s Guarantor will be granted a single Collateral Threshold to be applied in aggregate to all such REC purchase agreements entered into with such Buyer.

The amount of a Seller’s Performance Assurance is 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”). If the Seller is relying on a Guarantor and Seller’s Guarantor has provided a Guaranty, the Collateral Threshold shall be the lesser of the Collateral Threshold as determined by (i) the table in Section 7.1 or (ii) the amount of such Guaranty.

For example, for a solar Project if the Annual Quantity allocated to the Indexed REC Contract for with ComEd is 300,000 RECs, and the Seller’s Guarantor is investment grade and has provided a Guaranty in an amount equal to the Collateral Threshold of $2,500,000, then the required Performance Assurance Amount to be posted with ComEd is $500,000 ($10 x 300,000 -$2,500,000). A similar calculation would be performed to calculate the required Performance Assurance Amount to be posted separately with each of AIC and MEC. This example assumes that the Seller is party to only one REC purchase agreement with each utility and the Seller is not posting the Increased Collateral Requirement.

And for example, for a wind Project if the Annual Quantity allocated to the Indexed REC Contract for with ComEd is 750,000 RECs, and the Seller’s Guarantor is investment grade and has provided a Guaranty in an amount equal to the Collateral Threshold of $2,500,000, then the required Performance Assurance Amount to be posted with ComEd is $500,000 ($4 x 750,000 – $2,500,000). A similar calculation would be performed to calculate the required Performance Assurance Amount to be posted separately with each of AIC and MEC. This example assumes that the Seller is party to only one REC purchase agreement with each utility and the Seller is not posting the Increased Collateral Requirement.

For payment obligation provisions under the Indexed REC Contract, please see Section 5.4 of the Indexed REC Contract.

Section 3.4.6 of the IPA’s 2024 Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan, available on the IPA’s website here, states that “the Agency will seek to limit contractual obligations to no more than 95% of expected available funds for any given delivery year to guard against the potential payment reduction of existing contracts. The Agency has multiple opportunities in subsequent Long-Term Plans to make adjustments to REC prices, procurement targets, or other factors as more information becomes available that will allow for the Agency to ensure that a shortfall does not occur and that future budgets remain within that 95% target. Appendix B includes additional information showing how these current assumptions would extend through the 2042- 2043 delivery year.”

On October 17, 2024 the IPA released an update to the RPS Budget that includes updated versions of the tables and figures related to the REC portfolio and the RPS budget, including future energy price curves, current and future REC delivery quantities, and RPS collections and expenditures. This update also includes a discussion of uncertainties in estimating future RPS expenditures, providing additional context for the RPS budget related to future activities authorized in the 2024 Long-Term Plan and those potentially authorized through future Long-Term Plans. The Agency plans to release the next update of the REC and Budget forecasts in January 2025 after the conclusion of next Indexed REC procurement.

Please direct specific questions related to the RPS Budget to the Illinois Power Agency through their Contact Us page: https://ipa.illinois.gov/contact-us.html.

The shortfall waiver process outlined in Section 9.2(k) of the Indexed REC Contract may be requested following an event of default where: (i) Seller failed to meet the Delivery Year Requirement for five (5) or more years, and (ii) the Shortfall Amounts (as the term is defined in the Indexed REC Contract) cumulatively equal or exceeded two (2) times the annual quantity. As such, this is not the appropriate process for the situation you have described.

In your situation, please note that pursuant to Section 4.1(f) of the Indexed REC Contract, Seller’s failure to Deliver the Delivery Year Requirement through the first two (2) Delivery Years (i.e., first two (2) full June through May periods as well as any prior stub period) shall be excused, and such Delivery Year where Seller failed to Deliver the Delivery Year Requirement 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.

Please also refer to Section 10.1 (Force Majeure) of the Indexed REC Contract for events or circumstances that materially affects your ability to perform under the Indexed REC Contract, which event or circumstance could not be reasonably anticipated as of the effective date of the Indexed REC Contract and which is not within the reasonable control of Seller.  As stated in Section 10.1 of the Indexed REC Contract, “Force Majeure may include curtailments of the Project made by the regional transmission organization or independent system operator responsible for the operation of the transmission system to which the Project is interconnected, any transmission provider providing transmission services for the Project, the utility interconnecting with the Project and providing interconnection services to the Project, or a Governmental Authority, provided that such curtailment was not initiated by the Project or Seller. Upon such Force Majeure event, the Shortfall Amount in a Delivery Year may be excused by the amount of such curtailment”.

The strike price ($/MWh) provided in the Bid, used for purposes of payment under the terms of the Indexed REC Contract, is fixed and does not change throughout the term of the Indexed REC Contract.

For additional information on the strike price, please refer to FAQ-Indexed REC-39.

The bid assurance collateral instructions may be provided to a Bidder prior to the Part 1 Date, October 18, 2024, only after the Bidder has submitted a Part 1 Proposal for their Project.

The Bid Assurance Collateral Instructions for each Company will be distributed to Bidders who submit a Part 1 Proposal, shortly after the Part 1 Date, which is October 18, 2024. The instructions will include both information on how to submit cash as bid assurance collateral to the Companies as well as how to transmit the Pre-Bid Letter of Credit to the Companies.

A Bidder that paid a Bid Participation Fee pursuant to participation in a prior procurement event held in 2024, including the Summer 2024 Indexed REC RFP, is not required to pay the Bid Participation Fee again for this Fall 2024 Indexed REC RFP.

If the Project is located in a state adjacent to Illinois and has been pre-approved by the Illinois Power Agency (“IPA”) to be eligible for Illinois RPS compliance based on public interest criteria, the Bidder must provide evidence of this determination with the Part 1 Proposal by upload to the online form or by email to Illinois-RFP@nera.com. The Part 1 Proposal, including this evidence and all other required supporting documentation, is due by 12PM (noon) CPT on Friday, October 18.

Please submit the evaluation spreadsheet to the IPA by email to ipa.contactus@illinois.gov as soon as practicable. The IPA may take up to two (2) business days to review. The evaluation spreadsheet is available on the IPA’s website, under the header “Adjacent State Facility Eligibility” here, and is dated February 23, 2024.

Section 13.1 of the Indexed REC Contract describes the conditions and requirements under which the Indexed REC Contract may be assigned. Please note that Sections 13.1(i), (ii) and (iii) provide cases in which a Party may assign the Indexed REC Contract without the prior written consent of the other Party, which may or may not be relevant to your situation.

The calculation of the required amount of bid assurance collateral as described in Section V.2 of the Indexed REC RFP Rules does not differ for a Project located in an adjacent state.
Please refer to FAQ-Indexed REC-30 for additional information on the required amount of bid assurance collateral.

The Procurement Administrator posted the presentation materials and the audio recording from the bidder information webcast held on September 26, 2024 to the Final Materials page of the Indexed Wind, Solar, Brownfield, and Hydropower section of the website.

Under the Indexed REC Contract if the Project is proposed to be located within an Energy Transition Community Grant Area under the RFP, at least 50% of the Project must be located within such Energy Transition Community Grant Area(s) associated with the plant(s) or mines(s) as identified in the RFP and reflected in the Site Description in the Product Order. The Energy Transition Community Grant Area(s) associated with the plant(s) and/or mine(s) identified by you in the Part 1 Proposal and reflected in the Site Description in the Product Order are not subject to change throughout the term of the Indexed REC Contract, regardless of any updates that may be made to the list of ETCG areas in the future.

Yes, your understanding is correct. Pursuant to Section 9.2(k) of the Indexed REC Contract it is an Event of Default if there are “five (5) or more Shortfall Years and the cumulative sum of the Shortfall Amounts for all Shortfall Years equals or exceeds two (2) times the Annual Quantity.”

The annual quantity in the Indexed REC Contract related to a utility-scale solar project or a brownfield site photovoltaic project is subject to a degradation factor that is calculated using the Degradation Rate designated by the Bidder within the Part 2 Proposal. Please note that the Delivery Year Degradation Factor is different from the Degradation Rate as these terms are defined in the Indexed REC Contract.

For utility-scale solar and brownfield site photovoltaic Projects, the Bidder must provide a Degradation Rate up to 1% for the Project, rounded to two decimals, within the Part 2 Proposal.

The Delivery Year Degradation Factor for a utility-scale solar or brownfield site photovoltaic project, means 1 for Delivery Year 0 and Delivery Year 1, and means the result obtained from subtracting the Degradation Rate from the prior year’s Delivery Year Degradation Factor for all subsequent Delivery Years; where Delivery Year 1 is first full Delivery Year within the Acceptable Vintage Period.

Exhibit F-1 of the Indexed REC Contract provides an illustrative example of the Delivery Year Requirement calculation for a utility-scale solar or brownfield site photovoltaic Project using a Degradation Rate of 0.5%.

There is no degradation factor that is applicable to utility scale wind projects and hydropower projects.

For additional information on the Degradation Rate please review FAQ-Indexed REC-41 and FAQ-Indexed REC-40.

The Average Winning Bid Price of $73.06/MWh, provided in the Indexed REC RFP Results for Summer 2024, is a weighted average of the winning strike prices for the winning projects weighted by the annual quantity of RECs awarded.

Yes, this is possible. Cash posted as performance assurance may be replaced with a letter of credit under the Indexed REC Contract. The request for cash to be returned may be made to each company following the posting of an acceptable Letter of Credit to each of the companies. It is Seller’s responsibility to ensure Seller’s Performance Assurance is maintained pursuant to Article 7 of the Indexed REC Contract.

Under the Indexed REC RFP Rules there is no requirement for where a Project must be interconnected or deliver its energy. The Project must either be in Illinois or in a state adjacent to Illinois. However, please note that a Project that is located in a state adjacent to Illinois must meet 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.

Please see the redlines of the Indexed REC Contract posted to the “Final Materials” page of the Indexed Wind, Solar, Brownfield, and Hydropower section of the procurement website.

Yes, the Bidder may request to confirm the amount of Bid Assurance Collateral required to be posted with each Company by email to the Procurement Administrator.

A Bidder will have the opportunity to update the Degradation Rate for purposes of the Product Order of the Indexed REC Contract after the submission of the online Part 2 Form. Any update must be provided no later than 12 PM (noon) on the day after the Procurement Administrator notifies a Bidder that the Bidder has Bids that the Procurement Administrator identifies as winning Bids. Please see paragraph VI.2.14 of the RFP Rules, which states “By 6 PM on the Bid Date, the Procurement Administrator will contact the Representatives of each Bidder with Bids identified by the Procurement Administrator as winning Bids to the Commission to ensure that the contact information of such Representatives remains correct and up-to-date. If the Procurement Administrator notifies a Bidder that the Bidder has Bids that the Procurement Administrator identifies as winning Bids, and if the Bidder did not fully complete the Contract Inserts, the Bidder will be required to provide all information required by the applicable Contract Inserts promptly after such notification occurs and no later than 12 PM (noon) on the day after such notification is received by the Bidder. The Bidder may also update the Degradation Rate for purposes of the Product Order of the Indexed REC Contract, if needed, by this time. The Companies prepare the Indexed REC Contract documents.”

For purposes of calculating the Delivery Year Requirement under the Indexed REC Contract for the Fall 2024 Indexed REC RFP, the annual quantity in the Indexed REC Contract related to a utility-scale solar project or a brownfield site photovoltaic project is subject to a degradation factor that is calculated using the Degradation Rate designated by the Bidder within the Part 2 Proposal. For utility-scale solar and brownfield site photovoltaic Projects, the Bidder must provide a Degradation Rate up to 1% for the Project, rounded to two decimals. This Degradation Rate will be an input to the Product Order of the Indexed REC Contract and used for purposes of calculating the Delivery Year Degradation Factor. The Delivery Year Requirement calculation is set forth in Section 1.31 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 or hydropower projects. Please see Exhibit F-1 of the Indexed REC Contract that provides an illustrative example of the Delivery Year Requirement calculation for a utility-scale solar or brownfield site photovoltaic Project using a Degradation Rate of 0.5%.

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 two (2) full Delivery Years (i.e., first and second full June through May periods 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 five (5) or more years, and (ii) the Shortfall Amounts (as the term is defined in the Indexed REC Contract) cumulatively equals or exceeds two (2) times the Annual Quantity.

As defined in the IPA Act, “Strike price” means a contract price for energy and renewable energy credits from a project. The strike price ($/MWh) in the Bid and the Index Price ($/MWh) that corresponds to the Index Hub selected in the bid form will be used for purposes of calculating the REC Monthly Price, defined in the Indexed REC Contract (e.g. if MISO-IL Hub is selected in the bid form as the Index Hub for the Project, then the Index Price for purposes of calculating the REC Monthly Price will be the hourly Real-Time LMP for the MISO-IL Hub).

The REC Monthly Price applicable to the Project with respect to a Vintage month shall be calculated as follows. The REC Monthly Price Hourly Component is the product of (a) the result obtained by subtracting the Strike Price from the Index Price of such hour and (b) the MWh actual generation of the Project for such hour. The REC Monthly Price for a Vintage month shall be calculated by dividing (a) the sum of all REC Monthly Price Hourly Components in such Vintage month by (b) the MWh actual generation of the Project for such Vintage month, and rounding to the nearest cent. The REC Monthly Price may be either positive or negative. Payment is made from Seller to Buyer if the REC Monthly Price is positive and payment is made from Buyer to Seller if the REC Monthly Price is negative.

Please review the Indexed REC Contract for additional information: https://nera-content-media.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/ipa/Indexed_Wind_Solar_Hydro_and_Brownfield_Draft_Contract_25_SEP_2024_to_post_09772885dd.pdf 

There is no requirement to utilize Equity Eligible Contractors (EECs) to meet the Minimum Equity Standard. As defined in the Indexed REC Contract, “Minimum Equity Standard” means specific requirements provided in Section 1-75(c-10) of the IPA Act, for which a minimum percentage of the Project Workforce must consist of Equity Eligible Persons or Equity Eligible Contractors”.

A Minimum Equity Standard (“MES”) 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, or for a Modernized or Retooled Hydropower Project, if the Hydropower Refurbishment Completion Date, as defined in the Indexed REC Contract, is on or after December 15, 2022. At least 10% of the Project Workforce in each applicable delivery year shall be Equity Eligible Persons or Equity Eligible Contractors, as these terms are defined in the Indexed REC Contract. The MES applies for each delivery year in which Construction Activities are carried out through the Date of First Operation, or if the Project is a Modernized or Retooled Hydropower Project, through the Hydropower Refurbishment Completion Date.

For Contracts executed under this Fall 2024 Indexed REC RFP, the minimum percentage indicated in the Product Order for the Minimum Equity Standard shall not change during the Term of the Indexed REC Contract.

Please review paragraph IV.3.1 of the RFP Rules and Section 6.4 of the Indexed REC Contract for additional information.

As part of the Part 2 Proposal, the Seller must certify that the Bid constitutes a binding and irrevocable offer to supply the annual quantity of RECs from the Project selected in the evaluation and the Seller agrees that, if the Project is selected in the RFP and the Seller’s Bid on that Project is approved by the Commission, the Seller will execute the Indexed REC Contracts with all Companies as instructed by the Procurement Administrator. If the Bid for a Project is selected by the evaluation procedure and approved by the Commission, and the Seller fails to execute the Indexed REC Contract, a Company may draw upon the letter of credit or a Company may draw upon a cash deposit. If bid assurance collateral was submitted for multiple Projects and a draw is required on the bid assurance collateral for one of the Projects, the amount of the draw would not exceed the amount that would have been required as bid assurance collateral for that Project alone.

In addition, please refer to Indexed FAQ-29.

Bid assurance collateral must be received by 12 PM (noon) CPT on November 15, 2024 (the Part 2 Date) along with all other information and documents required by the Part 2 Proposal except for a Bidder’s Bids.

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 is expected to render its decision on the results of the procurement event on Thursday, December 5, 2024.

If the Bid for a Project is not selected by the evaluation procedure, 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”. 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.

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 Illinois Power Agency (“IPA”) develops procurement plans and conducts competitive procurement processes in accordance with the requirements of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act and Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act. The IPA issued their final Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan (“2024 Long-Term Plan”) on April 19, 2024. Chapter 5 of the 2024 Long-Term Plan covers the IPA’s competitive procurement activities relevant to Ameren Illinois Company (“Ameren Illinois”), Commonwealth Edison Company (“ComEd”), and MidAmerican Energy Company (“MidAmerican”) for 2024 and 2025.

Please see Section 5.6 of the 2024 Long-Term Plan, Table 5-5 in particular, for the proposed schedule for competitive procurements. The next Indexed REC RFP for new utility-scale wind, new utility-scale solar, new brownfield site photovoltaic, and certain hydropower projects is expected to be held in Summer 2025.

A Bidder may submit a Part 1 Proposal for a Project, and later decide to not submit a Part 2 Proposal for that Project. The Bid Participation Fee of $500 will not be refunded.

If a Bidder submits Proposals for multiple Projects, but ultimately decides not to present a Part 2 Proposal for all of the Projects that qualified through a successful Part 1 Proposal, such Bidder should notify the Procurement Administrator by email 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. 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.

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 (27.09% to AIC, 72.67% to ComEd, and 0.24% to MEC). As such, it is contemplated that you will sign three contracts, one with each of AIC, ComEd, and MEC. Each Indexed REC Contract is administered separately and independently by each of Companies, as such the Performance Assurance is determined for each of AIC, ComEd, and MEC independently.

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 or a Hydropower 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 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 Pre-Bid 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 Hydropower 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 Hydropower 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 Hydropower 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 cap on the amount of bid assurance collateral tendered to each utility.

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.

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, December 5, 2024.

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.

A Bidder must select an “Index Hub”, either MISO-IL Hub or PJM-NIHUB, for each Project for which a Bid is submitted in the bid form. The Index Hub is not used in the evaluation of bids. The Index Hub is used for purposes of payment under the Indexed REC Contract.

No. According to the RFP Rule Section V.5.4, a Bidder shall choose an “Indexed Hub”, either of PJM-NIHUB or MISO-IL, and this selection is independent and regardless of whether the project is or will be interconnected with MISO or PJM.

As described in Section V.5.7 of the RFP rules, Bids must be received between 10 AM and 12 PM (noon) on the Bid Date. The Bid Date for the Fall 2024 Indexed REC RFP is scheduled for December 2, 2024.

An MES Report should be submitted by all Sellers for all Projects for which the Minimum Equity Standard (“MES”) applies, as indicated in the Product Order, regardless of whether Construction Activities have been performed in the applicable delivery year.

As described in Section 6.4 of the Indexed REC Contract, after the conclusion of a delivery year regardless of whether 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. If the Date of First Operation of the Project as recorded by PJM-EIS GATS or M-RETS (or the Hydropower Refurbishment Completion Date if the Project is a Hydropower Project that is newly Modernized or Retooled) occurred prior to the date that is thirty (30) days of the Commission Bid Approval Date, then the MES Report shall be submitted as soon as practicable on or around the date that is thirty (30) days after the Commission Bid Approval Date. 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.

To submit the MES Report to the IPA, please complete the virtual form available on the IPA’s website. Instructions for completing and submitting the MES Report to the IPA for review are provided on the virtual form. The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion page on the IPA’s website provides helpful resources and tips: https://ipa.illinois.gov/diversity-equity-and-inclusion.html along with the FAQs page on the procurement website: https://www.ipa-energyrfp.com/faqs/.

Under the Part 1 Proposal, the Seller must certify that the project has been installed or will be installed by a “qualified person[s] in compliance with the requirements of Section 16-128A of the Public Utilities Act and any rules or regulations adopted thereunder.” (Citing 20 ILCS 3855/1-75(c)(7)).

As stated in Section 2.5.2.4 of the IPA’s 2024 Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan, “The Illinois Commerce Commission has adopted administrative rules for the certification of utility-scale [solar] and distributed generation installers under Section 16-128A of the PUA. The Commission has specifically defined the terms “qualified person” and “install” for both categories of projects. Any entity seeking to develop new photovoltaic projects in Illinois should be aware of the Commission’s Part 461 rules (governing installers of utility-scale photovoltaics), Part 468 rules (governing distributed generation installers) and the certification process more generally.” The Illinois Commerce Commission has regulatory authority over solar installers in Illinois; questions related to the interpretation of the Commission’s administrative rules are best directed to the Commission.

For utility-scale solar projects, the definitions of “install” and “qualified person” for project installations, and details for utility-scale solar installer certification under Section 16-128A of the PUA (220 ILCS 5/16-128A) and 83 Ill. Adm. Code 461 (“Part 461”) are accessible here.

For distributed generation facilities, the definitions of “install” and “qualified person” for project installations, and details for distributed generation facilities installer certification under Section 16-128A of the PUA and 83 Ill. Adm. Code 468 (“Part 468”) are accessible here.

Under the Indexed REC RFP, a brownfield site photovoltaic project that is co-located with another facility on a greenfield site must disclose this fact in Section 3 of the online Part 1 Form. Additionally, as part of the Part 1 Proposal, the Bidder will be required to confirm that the Project being proposed under the Indexed REC RFP has or will have a separate revenue quality meter from the co-located project, is entirely contained within the brownfield site, and will have its own account within PJM EIS GATS or M-RETS. A Bidder can make these additional confirmations in Section 11 of the online Part 1 Form or by email to the Procurement Administrator. The Project must meet all other Proposal requirements in Sections IV and V of the RFP Rules as well and the Procurement Administrator may require additional information during the evaluation of the Proposal once it has been submitted.

For the avoidance of doubt, the MWh hourly generation that must be provided under Section 6.1 of the Indexed REC Contract for which the REC Monthly Price Hourly Component is calculated must be from the Project as measured by the Project’s Revenue Quality Meter and not from any other electric source.

Please see Section VI.3 of the RFP rules for additional information regarding Confidentiality.

Any information provided by a Bidder or Seller in its Part 1 Proposal and Part 2 Proposal is provided on a confidential basis to the Procurement Administrator and may be provided on a confidential basis to the Procurement Monitor, to the IPA, or to ICC Staff.

The Procurement Administrator, the Procurement Monitor, representatives from the IPA, ICC Staff, and representatives of each Company as applicable who are involved in the evaluation of Proposals will consider all data and information provided by Bidders and Sellers in response to this RFP to be confidential and will attempt to limit its disclosure to the public in accordance with the provisions of Section VI.3 of the RFP Rules. Each Company will also take reasonable action to ensure that its employees, representatives and agents authorized to consider and evaluate all Proposals protect the confidentiality of such data and information. Each representative of the Procurement Administrator, Procurement Monitor, and the Companies that has access to any portion of the Proposals is required to sign a Confidentiality Statement in the form of Appendix 12 to these RFP Rules prior to evaluation of any portion of the Proposals. The list of all signatories is available to a Bidder or Seller upon request. A limited number of representatives from each Company will receive information on Bids identified by the Procurement Administrator as winning Bids for purposes of preparing the applicable supplier contracts. Another confidentiality agreement will be executed for this purpose.

Renewable Energy Credits (“RECs”) are the sole product being procured in the Indexed REC RFP.  Upon the effective date of Public Act 102-0662, as described in Section 1-75(c)(1)(G)(v), “for all competitive procurements and any procurements of renewable energy credit from new utility-scale wind and new utility-scale photovoltaic projects, the Agency shall procure indexed renewable energy credits and direct respondents to offer a strike price.”

The 2024 Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan (“2024 Long-Term Plan”), issued on April 19, 2024 in accordance with the Illinois Commerce Commission order, discusses the indexed REC model enacted through Public Act 102-0662. In particular in Section 5.4.4, the IPA states that “from a bidder’s standpoint, this Indexed REC approach offers clear advantages. Given the limited market for energy-alone off-take agreements in Illinois and the inability for the IPA to offer bundled Power Purchase Agreements, an Indexed REC price structure offers bidders the revenue certainty of a bundled contract without exposing default supply rates to potentially uneconomic hedges. From the standpoint of developing the most possible renewable energy at the lowest possible cost, this approach offers advantages back to the state of Illinois as well; if bidders receive full revenue certainty at the Strike Price amount, then risk premiums built into bids should be reduced relative to a fixed-price REC delivery contract, allowing for the development of more renewable energy generation at a lower RPS budget impact”

For more information, please refer to the 2024 Long-Term Plan, available on the IPA’s website here and the Final Materials for the Indexed REC RFP here.

In order for a Project located in a state adjacent to Illinois (Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, and Michigan) to be pre-approved to be eligible for Illinois RPS compliance, the bidder must submit an evaluation spreadsheet to the Illinois Power Agency by email to ipa.contactus@illinois.gov. The evaluation spreadsheet is available on the IPA’s website, under the header “Adjacent State Facility Eligibility” here, and is dated February 23, 2024. Please complete the fields in yellow. Once the required fields in yellow have been inputted, the spreadsheet generates a preliminary score subject to review by the IPA. The minimum score needed to qualify is 60.

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 2024 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 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 the Equity Investment Eligible Community Map that combines EJ and R3 areas can be found here.

The 2024 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. For purposes of this definition, ‘directly required by or substantially related to’ shall be construed to be any direct employee of the Approved Vendor, Designee, or Indexed REC contract holder, or any contractor and its employees whose contract exceeds 5% of the REC Contract value. Employees of contractors below that threshold may be counted toward the MES on a voluntary basis, but then all contractors below the 5% of REC contract value threshold must be included. (2024 Long-Term Plan at 356-357).

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.

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.

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, or up to the Hydropower Refurbishment Completion Date if the Project is a Modernized or Retooled Hydropower Project;
• 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.

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 for a utility-scale wind, utility-scale solar, brownfield site photovoltaic, or New Hydropower Project; or through the Hydropower Refurbishment Completion Date if the Project is a Modernized or Retooled Hydropower 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.

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 of the Portal, launched in Summer 2023, includes enhancements to help facilitate more inclusive participation in the clean energy workforce. Additional information can be found on the Portal’s Resources page.

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.

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.

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

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 EEPs 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
• Utilizing the Energy Workforce Equity Database
• Outreach on various platforms of targeted social media, engagement in direct outreach to relevant associations or organizations to notify them of the project opportunity. (2024 Long-Term Plan at page 362-363).

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.

Under Section 6.4 of the Indexed REC Contract, to demonstrate compliance with the MES the following reports must be submitted to the IPA , if applicable pursuant to Section 6.4(a) of the Indexed REC Contract;

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 regardless of whether Construction Activities have been performed or will be performed in that delivery year. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Date of First Operation of the Project as recorded by PJM-EIS GATS or M-RETS (or the Hydropower Refurbishment Completion Date if the Project is a hydropower project that is newly Modernized or Retooled) occurred prior to the date that is thirty (30) days of the Commission Bid Approval Date, then the MES Compliance Plan shall not be required. Subsequently, by June 1 of each 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  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 or submitted in accordance with procedures established by the IPA. If the Date of First Operation of the Project as recorded by PJM-EIS GATS or M-RETS (or the Hydropower Refurbishment Completion Date if the Project is a hydropower project that is newly Modernized or Retooled) occurred prior to the date that is thirty (30) days of the Commission Bid Approval Date, then the Mid-Year MES Confirmation shall not be required.
3. MES Report. After the conclusion of a delivery year regardless of whether 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. If the Date of First Operation of the Project as recorded by PJM-EIS GATS or MRETS  (or the Hydropower Refurbishment Completion Date if the Project is a hydropower project that is newly Modernized or Retooled) occurred prior to the date that is thirty (30) days of the Commission Bid Approval Date, then the MES Report shall be submitted as soon as practicable on or around the date that is thirty (30) days after the Commission Bid Approval Date. 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 Seller must submit the reports required by Section 6.4 Minimum Equity Standard of the Indexed REC Contract to the IPA separately for each such Project.

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 (or the Hydropower Refurbishment Completion Date if the Project is a hydropower project that is newly Modernized or Retooled) 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 further clarified in the IPA’s long term renewable resources procurement plan as approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission in ICC Docket No. 23-0714.

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. For purposes of this definition, “directly required by or substantially related to” shall be construed to be any direct employee of Seller, or any contractor and its employees whose contract exceeds 5% of the REC Contract Value. Employees of contractors below that threshold may be counted toward the MES on a voluntary basis, but then all employees of all contractors below the 5% of REC Contract Value threshold must be included. 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.

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 (or the Hydropower Refurbishment Completion Date if the Project is a hydropower project that is newly Modernized or Retooled) is on or after December 15, 2022.

The remedies related to a failure to meet the percentage requirement of the Minimum Equity Standard (i.e., 10%) is described in Section 10.1.5.4 of the IPA’s 2024 long-term renewable resources procurement plan (the “Long-Term Plan”) as approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission in ICC Docket No. 22-0714, which is pasted below for your convenience. Further, please also note that Section 1-75(c-30) of the IPA Act provides the following: “……If the Agency concludes the entity has not met or maintained its minimum equity standards required under the applicable subparagraphs under subsection (c-10), the Agency shall deny the entity’s ability to participate in procurement programs in subsection (c), including by withholding approved vendor or designee status.”

As set forth in Section 6.4(d) of the Indexed REC Contract, “no other remedies are contemplated under the Indexed REC Contract for Seller’s failure to comply with the Minimum Equity Standard requirements”. As such, failure to meet the percentage requirement of the Minimum Equity Standard is not an event of default leading to contract termination or forfeiture of the performance assurance under the Indexed REC Contract.

As noted above, and for your convenience, Section 10.1.5.4 of the 2024 Long-Term Plan provides that:

“If the Agency determines that an Approved Vendor, Designee, or Competitive Procurement Supplier has failed to comply with any of the requirements set forth by the Agency, or any contract, the entity will be notified and may face disciplinary action. The Agency will impose consequences for violations by program participants, including but not limited to:

1. Notice of Potential Violation
2. Suspension of the entity’s ability to submit project applications to IPA programs or to participate in competitive procurements during the remainder of the delivery year.
3. Repeated violations could potentially result in the Approved Vendor or Designee becoming suspended from the IPA’s programs for an entire delivery year or more. Competitive Procurement Suppliers could likewise be barred from participation in future competitive procurement events.
4. Provision of Mid-year Progress information

If the entity does not submit a Compliance Plan or if the Compliance Plan fails to meet the required Minimum Equity Standards after the chance to resubmit, it will receive a Notice of Potential Violation (NOPV). If the entity doesn’t submit an edited Compliance Plan or the revised Compliance Plan still does not pass after receiving an NOPV, it will be issued an official warning letter from the Agency. If the entity does not submit an edited Compliance Plan or the revised Compliance Plan still does not pass after receiving a warning letter, it will be issued suspension letter. Suspensions of an Approved Vendor or Designee in the Adjustable Block Program will be noted on the program website’s lists of Approved Vendors and Designees as well listed on the disciplinary actions report and in the Energy Workforce Equity Database”

Please see Section 6.4 of the Indexed REC Contract as well as the FAQs page for additional information on the MES including requirements, compliance plans, and waiver requests.

The Bidder determines the full and minimum quantities of RECs to include in the Bid for a given Project. These quantities may represent a portion of the RECs from a Project. For a utility-scale wind, utility-scale solar, or brownfield site photovoltaic project, the full quantity must not exceed the Maximum Bid Size. The minimum quantity must not exceed the full quantity. The RECs from each Project selected through this RFP will be allocated by the Procurement Administrator to the Companies in pre-specified proportions (27.09% to AIC, 72.67% to ComEd, and 0.24% to MEC).

Importantly, for a utility-scale wind, utility-scale solar, or brownfield site photovoltaic project in the Part 1 Proposal, a Bidder must provide the size of the Project in MW (AC rating), rounded to two (2) decimals, which in turn determines the area for which the Bidder must show site control, the amount of bid assurance collateral posted with the Part 2 Proposal, and the Maximum Bid Size. The size of the Project must be the total size of the Project and not a portion of the Project capacity.

Additionally, please note that under the Indexed REC Contract, the Seller will specify a Project Committed Percentage. The Project Committed Percentage means the percentage of the Project’s Actual Production to be used for purposes of the Standing Order. Please review Section 2.3(b) of the Indexed REC Contract for information regarding the Project Committed Percentage and the Standing Order.

Pursuant to Section 7.1(c) of the Indexed REC Contract, at the conclusion of the Delivery Term of the Indexed REC Contract upon completion of the final delivery obligations and payment obligations under the Indexed REC Contract, Seller may request for the return of Seller’s Performance Assurance.

Pursuant to Section 6.3 of the Indexed REC Contract, “each Project Labor Agreement and any amendments thereto shall be filed with the Director of the IPA via email at the email address provided in Exhibit B within the later of: (a) sixty (60) days prior to the start of the Project’s construction, (b) thirty (30) days of the execution of such Project Labor Agreement or amendment; or (c) thirty (30) days of the Commission Bid Approval Date.”

Please see paragraph 2.18 of the preliminary proposal requirements for information available at this time on the evaluation procedure for the Fall 2024 Indexed REC RFP. The preliminary proposal requirements are posted to the Draft Materials page of the procurement website.

The Illinois Power Agency Act (“IPA Act”) requires that benchmarks are kept confidential. Benchmarks are established by the Procurement Administrator, in consultation with the IPA, the Procurement Monitor, and the ICC Staff. The benchmark is subject to review and approval by the Commission.

Section 1-75(c)(1)(D) of the Act states that, “Renewable energy credits shall be cost effective. For purposes of this subsection (c), “cost effective” means that the costs of procuring renewable energy resources do not cause the limit stated in subparagraph (E) of this paragraph (1) to be exceeded and, for renewable energy credits procured through a competitive procurement event, do not exceed benchmarks based on market prices for like products in the region. For purposes of this subsection (c), “like products” means contracts for renewable energy credits from the same or substantially similar technology, same or substantially similar vintage (new or existing), the same or substantially similar quantity, and the same or SB2408 Enrolled LRB102 11366 BMS 16699 b Public Act 102-0662 substantially similar contract length and structure. Benchmarks shall reflect development, financing, or related costs resulting from requirements imposed through other provisions of State law, including, but not limited to, requirements in subparagraphs (P) and (Q) of this paragraph (1) and the Renewable Energy Facilities Agricultural Impact Mitigation Act. Confidential benchmarks shall be developed by the procurement administrator, in consultation with the Commission staff, Agency staff, and the procurement monitor and shall be subject to Commission review and approval. If price benchmarks for like products in the region are not available, the procurement administrator shall establish price benchmarks based on publicly available data on regional technology costs and expected current and future regional energy prices. The benchmarks in this Section shall not be used to curtail or otherwise reduce contractual obligations entered into by or through the Agency prior to June 1, 2017 (the effective date of Public Act 99-906).”

As described in Chapter 5.8 of the 2024 Long-Term Plan, a comment process will be held as part of the benchmark development process for each Indexed REC procurement event. The Benchmark Categories of Inputs, Assumptions and Data Sources comment process for the latest procurement event, the 2024 Summer Indexed REC RFP, concluded on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The invitation to comment and comments received can be viewed here under the heading “Comment Process on Benchmark Categories of Inputs, Assumptions and Data Sources”.

No additional information is available.

For utility-scale wind and solar projects, under the Indexed REC Contract, the Minimum Equity Standard (“MES”) applies for each delivery year in which Construction Activities are carried out through the Date of First Operation.

As defined in the Indexed REC Contract, Construction Activities “means activities related to the Project that includes not only construction, but also any maintenance, repair, assembly, or disassembly work performed on equipment whether owned, leased, or rented and all construction work performed by Seller, including its contractors and subcontractors, relating to construction, maintenance, repair, assembly, or disassembly work in relation to the Project; and in the case of a Hydropower Project that is newly Modernized or Retooled, Construction Activities shall also include activities set forth in Section 1.72.”