Illinois secures 600 MW of batteries, falling 438 MW short of its target

The Illinois Power Agency (IPA) awarded 600 MW of utility-scale battery storage in its first auction under the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act, with contracts approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) on September 1, 2026. The figure is more than four times the 141 MW of utility batteries the entity reports installed in the state, but it falls 438 MW short of the 1,038 MW the process sought to place.

According to the IPA, the auction targeted 450 MW in the MISO operator zone (central and southern Illinois) and 588 MW in the PJM zone, which covers the north, where Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) operates. The process closed with 520 MW in MISO, above its target, and only 80 MW in PJM, a single project in the Chicago area. State law sets a target of at least 3,000 MW in commercial operation by December 31, 2030.

The central instrument is the indexed storage credit (ISC), a 20-year contract that guarantees developers a minimum revenue and shares the difference against wholesale prices with the distribution utility. The IPA calls this scheme the first of its kind in the United States for storage. Canary Media documents that delays in the PJM interconnection queue discouraged bids and that the first round only admitted standalone projects, without solar paired with batteries. The IPA is accepting developer comments through the end of October.

For Mexico, where the Energy Regulatory Commission is working on rules for storage paired with solar plants, the U.S. case offers three practical signals:

- **Guaranteed revenue attracts bids, but it depends on the grid.** MISO drew enough projects; in PJM, whose interconnection backlog held back development, barely one reached contract. - **Eligibility matters.** Opening the next process to solar-coupled batteries broadens the developer base. - **The gap to the overall target grows.** 2,400 MW remain to be contracted to reach 3,000 MW by 2030, against the 1,962 MW left by this round's full scenario.

The next point to watch is the Integrated Resource Plan that the IPA must submit to the ICC no later than November 15, 2026, an input for the 2027 and 2028 auctions.

This article was drafted with artificial intelligence assistance from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.