Energy (Solar)

Amends the Environmental Protection Act, Energy Efficient Building Act, Illinois Power Agency Act, Public Utilities Act, and related statutes to establish comprehensive environmental, water, and energy regulations for hyperscale data centers. In the Environmental Protection Act, requires cumulative impact assessments, public notice, and community benefits agreements for data centers; prohibits nondisclosure agreements; and creates the Data Center Community Intervenor Compensation Fund and Hyperscale Data Center Public Benefits and Affordability Fund funded by annual fees based on peak demand. Mandates water resource planning, quarterly water usage reporting, water scarcity plans, and Water Impact Permits with public hearings and renewal every 5 years. Requires compliance with stringent energy codes and annual energy and water reporting to the Illinois Commerce Commission. Expands renewable energy procurement programs, establishes a hyperscale data center self-direct program, and strengthens equity, transparency, and labor standards in clean energy initiatives. Creates the Residential Automated Solar Permitting Platform Act to require municipalities and counties to adopt a residential automated solar permitting platform on or before July 1, 2027, and authorizes persons to file a civil action against a municipality or county in violation.

Amends the Illinois Power Agency Act. In provisions concerning colocation of photovoltaic community renewable generation projects, changes references from "community renewable generation project" to "photovoltaic community renewable generation project" and "community solar projects" to "photovoltaic community renewable generation projects". Requires a project labor agreement for the new construction of certain facilities related to community-driven community solar projects. In a provision applying prevailing wage requirements to facilities for which a renewable energy credit delivery contract is signed, removes an exception for multi-family residential buildings with aggregate geothermal system tonnage, including colocated projects, of no more than 29 tons. Amends the Energy Transition Act. Provides that the Department of Corrections and the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall jointly develop activities to support the recruitment of eligible candidates to the Illinois Climate Works Preapprenticeship Program. Provides that the activities shall include coordinating on sharing with community-based providers the contact information of persons preparing to be released into the community, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses, if the person preparing to be released consents to the person's contact information being shared. Makes other changes.

Amends the Illinois Enterprise Zone Act. Provides that Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity may designate a business that intends to establish a new wind power facility or a utility-scale solar facility as a high impact business only if the municipality in which the facility will be located (or the county in which the facility will be located, if the facility will be located in an unincorporated area of the county) approves, in writing, the designation of the business as a high impact business. Makes conforming changes. Amends the Prevailing Wage Act to make conforming changes. Effective immediately.

Amends the Counties Code. Provides that the amendments made by Public Act 102-1123 to provisions concerning commercial wind energy facilities and commercial solar energy facilities do not apply to a commercial wind energy development, a commercial solar energy development, or an energy storage development on property in that located South of Interstate 70 and Edwards County, Franklin County, Hamilton County, Jackson County, Jefferson County, Madison County, Monroe County, Perry County, Randolph County, St. Clair County, Union County, Wabash County, Washington County, Wayne County, or White County.

Amends the Counties Code, the Township Code, and the Illinois Municipal Code. Provides that a commercial solar energy facility, commercial wind energy facility, or energy storage facility may not be constructed in a county, a township, or within 1.5 miles of a municipality unless the facility has the approval of (1) the county board of the county or, if the facility is located in Cook County, the Cook County Board of Commissioners; (2) if the facility would be located within a township, the township board of trustees; and (3) if the facility would be located within a municipality, the corporate authorities of the municipality. Effective immediately.

Amends the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax Act, the Service Occupation Tax Act, and the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. Provides that, beginning on January 1, 2027, tangible personal property that is purchased for the improvement of residential or nonresidential real estate by the installation of a solar energy system that is primarily used to provide electricity to the premises is exempt from taxation under the Acts.

Amends the Property Tax Code. In provisions concerning the valuation of wind energy devices, provides that, for taxable year 2027 and thereafter, the real property cost basis is $588,000 per megawatt of nameplate capacity (currently, $360,000 per megawatt of nameplate capacity). In provisions concerning the valuation of solar energy systems, provides that, for taxable year 2027 and thereafter, the real property cost basis is $446,000 per megawatt of nameplate capacity (currently, $218,000 per megawatt of nameplate capacity). Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Power Agency Act. In provisions concerning the Planning and Procurement Bureau, provides that the Illinois Power Agency shall conduct an initial energy storage procurement that results in electric utilities that served more than 300,000 customers in the State as of January 1, 2019 contracting for at least 1,038 megawatts of cost-effective stand-alone energy storage systems, excluding hydrogen batteries, that can achieve commercial operation on or before December 31, 2029 or an alternative date proposed by the Agency that is no later than December 31, 2030. Amends the Counties Code. In provisions concerning energy storage systems, provides that a county may require an energy storage facility to comply with the version of NFPA 855 "Standard for the Installation of Stationary Energy Storage Systems", or, for hydrogen batteries, the version of NFPA 853 "Standard for the Installation of Stationary Fuel Cell Power Systems", in effect on a certain date. Provides that a facility owner's decommissioning plan may include all requirements for decommissioning plans in NFPA 855 or NFPA 853 for hydrogen batteries. Amends the Public Utilities Act. In provisions concerning net electricity metering, provides that each electricity provider shall modify its tariffs to allow net metering for an energy storage system, except for hydrogen batteries, or vehicle storage system energized after a certain date with a nameplate capacity of not more than 5,000 kilowatts. In provisions concerning distributed generation rebates, provides that an energy storage system, except for hydrogen batteries, whether or not paired with distributed generation, shall be separately compensated at a base payment of $300 per kilowatt-hour of nameplate capacity until the threshold date. Provides that, after the threshold date, a stand-alone energy storage system, except for hydrogen batteries, shall be compensated with a rebate of $250 per kilowatt-hour of nameplate capacity. In provisions concerning the resolution of disputes between facility owners and units of local government related to the siting of qualified energy facilities, provides that an energy storage system, except for hydrogen batteries, shall be in compliance with provisions of the Counties Code concerning energy storage systems. Makes other changes.

Amends the Illinois Power Agency Act and the Public Utilities Act. Provides that "agrivoltaic system" means a ground-mounted photovoltaic solar energy system that meets the following criteria: (1) the applicable farm plan and the system have been intentionally designed with agricultural producers, agrivoltaics experts, or both agricultural producers and agrivoltaics experts; (2) the system is constructed, installed, and operated to achieve an integrated and simultaneous production of both solar energy and current or future marketable agricultural products, including all products and activities described in the definition of "production agriculture" in the Use Tax Act and apiaries if the apiary is paired with another qualifying marketable agricultural product, by an agricultural producer; (3) the agricultural production of the system occur on land beneath or between rows of solar panels; and (4) the agricultural production of the system begins as soon as agronomically feasible and optimal for the agricultural producer after the commercial operation date of the solar panels and continues until decommissioning. Provides that "agrivoltaic system" does not include a system that has a pollinator habitat as the sole dual use of the system.

Amends the Illinois Enterprise Zone Act. In provisions concerning High Impact Businesses, adds utility-scale brownfield site photovoltaic projects and over 5,000 kilowatts and utility-scale solar projects to High Impact Businesses that may be located, at the time of designation, in an enterprise zone. Amends the Illinois Power Agency Act. Provides that "brownfield site photovoltaic project" includes photovoltaics that are interconnected to an electric utility, a municipal utility, a public utility, or an electric cooperative, where at least 50% of the acreage occupied by the photovoltaics is located on the property regulated under specified United States Environmental Protection Agency or Illinois Environmental Protection Agency programs. Makes other changes