Illinois Shines Information for Halo Designees

We are excited to have the opportunity to work with you on Illinois Shines Projects! Below, you will find the necessary resources to ensure that you stay up to date with all IL Shines Program requirements. 

• April 2025 – MES Compliance Plan for next Program Year (2025-26) opens for submissions
• May 2025 – Program Year 2024-25 MES Year-End Report opens for submissions
• May 30, 2025 – Conclusion of the 2024-25 Program Year
• June 2, 2025 – Submission deadline for Program Year 2025-26 MES Compliance Plan
• July 15, 2025 – Submission deadline for Program Year 2024-25 MES Year-End Report
• July 15, 2025 – Submission deadline for Program Year 2024-25 MES Waiver

• IL Shines Program Updates  *Please subscribe 
• ABP Program Guidebook
• ABP Consumer Protection Handbook
• ABP DG Contract Requirements
• ABP Program Brochure
• ABP Guide to Going Solar

•  Halo Solar Training Guide
• Illinois Shines Process with Halo Solar​​​​​
• Halo Designee Management Plan
• Consumer Protections and MES Training Slideshow
• Halo Field Install Guide
• Halo Solar Installation Training Resources

Minimum Equity Standards:

In 2023, the Illinois Shines Program began implementing Minimum Equity Standards that all approved vendors and designees the program must comply with. Beginning in the 2023-2024 Illinois Shines Program year, each participating Designee must have a 10% minimum percentage of their project workforce include Equity Eligible Persons (EEPs). The 10% equity commitment is based on the total number of employees over the entire program year (June 1- May 31).

An equity eligible person is defined as:

1. Graduates or current or former participants in the Clean Jobs Workforce Network Program, Clean Energy Contractor Incubator Program, Illinois Climate Works Pre-apprentice Program, Returning Residents Clean Jobs Training Program, or the Clean Energy Primes Contractor Accelerator Program, and the solar training pipeline and multicultural jobs program created by FEJA 
2. Persons who are graduates of or currently enrolled in the foster care system 
3. Persons who were formerly incarcerated 
4. Persons whose primary residence is in an equity eligible investment community. Click here for the Equity Investment Community Map for eligibility. 

 The project workforce includes all 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 Illinois Shines program.

Throughout the Program year, Designees and Approved Vendors are asked to complete a Compliance Plan, which outlines how they plan to meet the MES yearly requirement, and a Year-End Report, where they report their outcomes. If, despite significant efforts, your company determines that prior to the end of the Program Year, it will not achieve the 10% MES goal, your organization is encouraged to request a waiver.

As the MES increases in future Program Years (incrementally to 30% by 2030), participating entities must increase their efforts to attract, recruit, and retain EEPs and EECs into the clean energy workforce.  The following table shows the schedule and percentages of required EEP project workforce composition for businesses with small workforce totals.

MES Year-End Report Submission Requirements

The MES Year-End Report is intended for your organization to document compliance with the MES across a Program Year. A template for the MES Year-End Report can be viewed on the Program website here, or in Appendix S of the Program Guidebook. The submission form for MES Year-End Reports will be made available in May 2025. Program participants will be notified of the availability of the MES Year-End Report via email from the Program Administrator. The MES Year-End Report will require the following data and information:

• Approved Vendor and Designee information
• Project workforce total
• Project workforce demographic information
• EEP workforce totals and demographic information, including proof of EEP eligibility and any supporting documentation for any EEPs not registered in the IPA’s Energy Workforce Equity Portal (e.g., for individuals that qualify based on residency in an Equity Investment Eligible Community [“EIEC”] or through participation in a qualifying training program, submission of proof will be required)
• Description of outreach efforts employed by the Approved Vendor or Designee to recruit EEPs
• Job training program graduate hiring data, Illinois-based workforce diversity data
• Other data previously collected during the Approved Vendor Annual Report

Preparation Steps for Year-End Report Submission

Approved Vendors and Designees are encouraged to begin gathering information needed to complete the MES Year-End Report ahead of time, including encouraging EEPs in their project workforce to register in IPA’s Energy Workforce Equity Portal. In the MES Year-End Report, Approved Vendors/Designees will be required to provide the full names of individuals in their project workforce who qualify as EEPs, and the Program Administrator will verify their qualifications as part of the review process. While it is not a requirement to have EEPs register using the Energy Workforce Equity Portal, this might provide an easier route to compliance with the MES. If your organization’s EEPs are NOT registered in the Energy Workforce Equity Portal, your organization will be required to collect signed EEP attestations and to provide documentation for those individuals’ EEP qualifications to submit to the Program Administrator. The Energy Workforce Equity Portal can be accessed here: https://energyequity.illinois.gov/.

Additional steps to take in preparing the Year-End Report include requesting project workforce data from subcontractors and confirming your organization’s total Illinois-based Illinois Shines project workforce number. Please keep in mind that Approved Vendors and Designees may contact the Program Administrator for support, including utilizing the Program’s office hours, for any questions that arise during the process.

Consequences of Non-Compliance

If the Approved Vendor/Designee has not met the MES for the Program Year, the Approved Vendor/Designee will be suspended and unable to continue participating in the Program. The Approved Vendor/Designee may be required to enter into a Corrective Action Plan to achieve compliance. An Approved Vendor/Designee may have their suspension lifted and may participate in the Program once they have achieved the requirements in their Corrective Action Plan.

MES Reporting Requirements Webinar

Information on Minimum Equity Standards - IPA

Equity Investment Eligible Community Map

MES Waiver Form

Equity Eligible Person Registration Form

Clean Energy Job Listing Dashboard​​​​​​​