Climate Jobs Illinois has released a new study entitled “Clean Energy, Lost Wages; Bridging the Community Solar Jobs Gap in Illinois“, an executive summary for the report has been provided below.

Executive Summary

Since Illinois passed the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) in 2021, ratepayers invested heavily in building a strong clean energy economy instate. But instead of delivering jobs and training opportunities for Illinois workers, community solar projects – small, offsite, subscriber-based arrays supported by state energy incentives – have too often relied on out-of-state crews, sending paychecks and training elsewhere.

Community solar lets households, small businesses, and public entities subscribe to electricity from a shared solar project and receive bill credits – no rooftop required. In Illinois, most community-solar projects participate in Illinois Shines, the state’s incentive program that awards renewable energy credits (RECs) to approved projects. Those RECs are purchased with ratepayer dollars, which means Illinois customers are funding the build-out of these projects in exchange for clean energy and consumer benefits. Our research indicates that 60 percent of community solar projects in Illinois are being built by out-of-state contractors, and more than four out of five of those workers (82.6 percent) are from outside of Illinois. Illinois ratepayers are purchasing clean power and subsidizing a large share of jobs that do not land in our communities. Instead, the paychecks from those projects pay rents and mortgages for workers in at least 36 other states. Meanwhile, community solar projects built under union project labor agreements (PLAs) – staffed almost entirely by Illinois residents (94 percent) – are few and far between. What does this cost us? Using the final 2025–26 Illinois Shines block sizes for all community solar projects and the U.S. Department of Energy’s latest industry cost benchmarks, we estimate that almost $100 million in construction wages will be exported out of Illinois this program year. Because community solar blocks frequently open fully subscribed each year with a substantial waitlist rolling forward, these lost paychecks and apprenticeship hours will continue year after year without policy changes

This has implications for Illinois’ equity goals too. Because Illinois’ Minimum Equity Standard (MES) relies heavily on in-state residency criteria to identify Equity Eligible Persons (EEPs), out-of-state crews are less likely to meet the state’s strict equity goals. Three of the core EEP pathways are Illinois residency-based (living in communities eligible for the state’s Restore, Reinvest, and Renew (R3) program, living in an Illinois environmental justice community, or participating in a CEJA workforce program), while the remaining pathways are formerly incarcerated or foster-care graduates. When projects rely on out-of-state crews, those workers are ineligible for the residency–based EEP pathways by definition. Meanwhile, contractors that are majority owned or controlled by EEPs are assumed in full MES compliance – another reason that Illinois-based workforce and ownership matter for meeting equity goals. The solution is simple: lower the PLA threshold to cover community solar projects under 5 MW. Illinois designed CEJA to create clean energy and good jobs. PLAs improve job quality and significantly increase the likelihood that projects are staffed by local workers – keeping with CEJA’s goal for in-state workforce development – regardless of where the prime contractor is based. Lowering the PLA threshold would turn ratepayer investments into more family-sustaining paychecks for Illinois workers, while also building in-state contractor capacity and upholding the spirit of CEJA: Illinois ratepayer dollars supporting Illinois workers and businesses.

CLIMATE JOBS ILLINOIS
OCTOBER 2025