As a requirement of the New Solar RFP, a new photovoltaic Project must be installed by a qualified person.   The Administrative Code (Title 83, Part 461, available here: http://www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/083/083004610000100R.html) provides the following definitions:

“Qualified person” means a person who performs installations on behalf of the certificate holder and who has completed at least one of the following programs requiring lab or field work and received a certification of satisfactory completion: an apprenticeship as a journeyman electrician from a USDOL-registered or an applicable state-agency-registered electrical apprenticeship and training program; a North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) distributed generation technology certification program; an electrical training program for in-house employees established and administered by an electric utility regulated by the Commission; or an Associate in Applied Science degree from an Illinois Community College Board-approved community college program in solar generation technology.

“Install” means to perform the electrical wiring and connections necessary to interconnect the new solar project with the electric utility’s transmission or distribution system at the point of interconnection between the project and the utility. “Install” in this Part specifically does not mean:

• Electrical wiring and connections to interconnect the new solar project performed by utility workers;
• Electrical wiring and connections internal to the new solar project performed by the manufacturer;
• The on-site construction and installation of a solar panel or a collector substation; or
• Tasks relating to construction, planning and project management performed by individuals such as an inspector, management planner, consultant, project designer or contractor for the project or their employees.

Please review Part 461 of the Administrative Code and the certification process of the Commission more generally.