New Report – Clean Energy, Lost Wages Bridging the Community Solar Jobs Gap in Illinois

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

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

BY THE NUMBERS: The Inflation Reduction Act

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

The White House Briefing Room
August 15, 2022

The Inflation Reduction Act will lower costs for families, combat the climate crisis, reduce the deficit, and finally ask the largest corporations to pay their fair share. President Biden and Congressional Democrats have worked together to deliver a historic legislative achievement that defeats special interests, delivers for American families, and grows the economy from the bottom up and middle out.

Here’s how the Inflation Reduction Act impacts Americans by the numbers:

…

CLEAN ENERGY

Lowering Energy Costs

  • Families that take advantage of clean energy and electric vehicle tax credits will save more than $1,000 per year.
  • $14,000 in direct consumer rebates for families to buy heat pumps or other energy efficient home appliances, saving families at least $350 per year.
  • 7.5 million more families will be able install solar on their roofs with a 30% tax credit, saving families $9,000 over the life of the system or at least $300 per year.
  • Up to $7,500 in tax credits for new electric vehicles and $4,000 for used electric vehicles, helping families save $950 per year.
    Putting America on track to meet President Biden’s climate goals, which will save every family an average of $500 per year on their energy costs.

Building a Clean Energy Economy

  • Power homes, businesses, and communities with much more clean energy by 2030, including:
    • 950 million solar panels
    • 120,000 wind turbines
    • 2,300 grid-scale battery plants
  • Advance cost-saving clean energy projects at rural electric cooperatives serving 42 million people.
  • Strengthen climate resilience and protect nearly 2 million acres of national forests.
  • Creating millions of good-paying jobs making clean energy in America.

Reducing Harmful Pollution

  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 1 gigaton in 2030, or a billion metric tons – 10 times more climate impact than any other single piece of legislation ever enacted.
  • Deploy clean energy and reduce particle pollution from fossil fuels to avoid up to 3,900 premature deaths and up to 100,000 asthma attacks annually by 2030.

(Read More)

Illinois’ solar industry is looking to train a new generation of clean-energy workers

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By Jenny Whidden | Daily Herald – June 23, 2022

With Illinois looking ahead to its goal of 100% renewable energy by 2050, organizations are working to secure a workforce that is ready to install and maintain clean energy infrastructure, including solar arrays.

The passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act last fall essentially pushed up Illinois’ previous goal of 25% renewable energy by 2025, setting a more ambitious target of 40% by 2030. With the state generating just 11% renewable electricity as of 2020, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, stakeholders say they are preparing to train a new generation of energy workers to respond to the lofty legislation.

“Given the significant amount of clean energy opportunities in the state, we certainly are going to need an expanded workforce,” said Lesley McCain, executive director of the Illinois Solar Energy Association. “The solar industry is open for business. We are hiring.”

Solar energy most recently accounted for 0.93% of the state’s electricity, creating about 5,200 jobs, according to the Solar Energies Industries Association.

One organization that is looking to ramp up workforce training in the solar space is the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council, the state’s largest carpenters union.

The union’s four-year apprentice program provides solar panel installation training to its apprentices and collaborates with contractors to build solar projects throughout the state.

(Read More)

Biden issues executive orders to spur clean energy construction

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Published June 7, 2022 – Construction Dive
Julie Strupp, Editor

Dive Brief:

President Joe Biden announced on Monday three executive orders under the Defense Production Act to increase domestically manufactured clean energy technology and boost clean energy construction projects.

The orders aim to expand manufacturing of critical clean energy technologies and put the financial power of federal procurement behind clean energy. It also seeks to boost solar panel supply in order to accelerate solar projects, which are one of the priorities in the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

America’s solar industry is facing tariffs on solar panels imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, which supply about 80% of U.S. panels and parts. The tariffs have delayed or canceled hundreds of utility-scale solar projects; one of Biden’s orders provides a two-year tariff exemption to support construction projects in the United States right now, according to the White House press release.

Dive Insight:

The president can invoke the 1950 DPA to order private businesses to prioritize the production of materials that have been deemed necessary for national defense. In addition to pausing tariffs amid an ongoing Commerce Department probe to shore up the solar supply chain and prioritizing federal purchase of U.S.-made solar systems, Biden authorized the Department of Energy to rapidly expand domestic manufacturing of:

  • Solar panel parts.
  • Building insulation.
  • Heat pumps for buildings.
  • Equipment to make and use clean electricity-generated fuels.
  • Critical power grid infrastructure like transformers.

The administration said the new orders will help the government meet its goal of eliminating carbon from the country’s power supply by 2035, and will protect clean energy jobs and builds.

“Together, these actions will spur domestic manufacturing, construction projects and good-paying jobs – all while cutting energy costs for families, strengthening our grid, and tackling climate change and environmental injustice,” the White House release said.

The executive actions come after the Biden administration in May launched the IIJA-funded Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange to get more sources of clean energy connected to the national power grid. The Act includes $65 billion in clean energy investments.

(See Article)