NERA managed the Low-Income Community Solar Pilot for the Illinois Power Agency (IPA) to procure renewable energy credits (RECs) from new community solar projects for a fifteen-year delivery term. NERA was retained by the IPA to develop the delivery contract as well as the procurement process. The program included qualification requirements to ensure projects would result in economic benefits for the members of the community in which the project is located and that projects would be partnered with at least one community-based organization.

NERA designed and implemented a request for proposals to qualify projects that met standards required by prevailing Illinois legislation. The standards were related to the amount of the credit provided to subscribers (individuals or community-based organization in the low-income community that would receive net metering from the new community solar project) and how to define the community, qualifying subscribers that must be either low-income residential customers or community-based organizations, requiring developers to demonstrate community involvement.

NERA solicited written comments from various stakeholders and facilitated a workshop on the procurement event that reviewed contract key terms and qualification standards. NERA developed and filed a benchmark methodology for Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) approval. The benchmark was developed to ensure that RECs purchased through the program are cost effective.

NERA employed a sealed-bid auction format for the procurement event, and bids that met or beat the benchmark for each category of project were evaluated on a price-only basis. NERA submitted a report with its recommendation on the results of the procurement event for approval by the ICC.

The procurement event results were approved by the ICC and resulted in contracts for RECs from multiple community solar projects in Illinois.