Illinois § 8-218

§ 8-218.

Utility-scale pilot projects. (a) Electric utilities serving greater than 500,000 customers but less than 3,000,000 customers may propose, plan for, construct, install, control, own, manage, or operate up to 2 pilot projects consisting of utility-scale photovoltaic energy generation facilities. A pilot project may consist of photovoltaic energy generation facilities located on one or more sites and may be installed or constructed in phases. Energy storage facilities that are planned for, constructed, installed, controlled, owned, managed, or operated may be constructed in connection with the photovoltaic electricity generation pilot projects. (b) Pilot projects shall be sited in equity investment eligible communities in or near the towns of Peoria and East St. Louis and must result in economic benefits for the members of the communities in which the project will be located. The amount paid per pilot project with or without energy storage facilities cannot exceed $20,000,000. The electric utility's costs of planning for, constructing, installing, controlling, owning, managing, or operating the photovoltaic electricity generation facilities and energy storage facilities may be recovered, on a kilowatt hour basis, via an automatic adjustment clause tariff applicable to all retail customers, with the tariff to be approved by the Commission after opportunity for review, and with an annual reconciliation component; and for purposes of cost recovery, the photovoltaic electricity production facilities may be treated as regulatory assets, using the same ratemaking treatment in paragraph (1) of subsection (h) of Section 16-107.6 of this Act, provided: (1) the Commission shall have the authority to determine the reasonableness of the costs of the facilities, and (2) any monetary value of power and energy from the facilities shall be credited against the delivery services revenue requirement. (c) Any electric utility seeking to propose, plan for, construct, install, control, own, manage, or operate a pilot project pursuant to this Section must commit to using a diverse and equitable workforce and a diverse set of contractors, including minority-owned businesses, disadvantaged businesses, trade unions, graduates of any workforce training programs established by this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, and small businesses. An electric utility must comply with the equity commitment requirements in subsection (c-10) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. The electric utility must certify that not less than the prevailing wage will be paid to employees engaged in construction activities associated with the pilot project. The electric utility must file a project labor agreement, as defined in the Illinois Power Agency Act, with the Commission prior to constructing, installing, controlling, or owning a pilot project authorized by this Section. (Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21; 102-1031, eff. 5-27-22.)