The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) calls for the Illinois Power Agency (IPA) to hold procurements for renewable energy credits (RECs) from new utility-scale wind, utility-scale solar, and brownfield site photovoltaic projects. NERA was retained by the IPA to develop the delivery contract structured as a Contract for Difference and the procurement process including qualification requirements. NERA will administer a series of procurement events to determine awards for contracts with a 20-year term.

NERA solicited written comments and facilitated a stakeholder workshop on the procurement, including key contract terms and qualification standards and developed and filed a benchmark methodology for Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) approval to ensure the RECs were cost effective. The team implemented a request for proposals to qualify new projects (either not yet energized or recently energized) that meet the requirements of the CEJA, meet project maturity milestones, and demonstrate an ability to perform under the contract.

NERA employed a sealed-bid auction format, and bids that meet or beat the benchmark for each category of project are evaluated on a price-only basis. After each procurement event, NERA submits a report with its recommendation on the results of that procurement event for approval by the ICC.

The results of the first procurement event, held in Spring 2022, were approved by the ICC. RECs were procured from all three project categories (new wind, solar, and brownfield projects) in Illinois or an adjacent state.