Illinois Shines publishes 2025-26 mentorship program report

Illinois Shines, the state's solar incentive program, has released a report on its mentorship program for small and historically underserved solar businesses. The program, run by the Illinois Power Agency and Energy Solutions, helps contractors who are newly certified for the program learn how to actually submit and get projects approved, since the rules and paperwork can be a lot to sort through.

This mostly affects contractors, not homeowners directly, but it points to more solar installers becoming available across Illinois. In the 2025-26 year, two training cohorts ran online over eight weeks each, with a fall group of 20 mentees and a winter group of 17, mentored by representatives from 11 existing Illinois Shines participants. Training covered how to apply, submit paperwork, follow wage and consumer-protection rules, and work with subcontractors. Since the program started in 2023, graduates have gone on to submit more than 335 solar project applications and complete 180 projects around the state.

If you're considering solar for your home, this news is a sign that Illinois has been actively growing its pool of trained, small and local installers, including minority-, women-, veteran-, and disability-owned businesses. A related webinar also covered financing options for installers, which may eventually translate into more financing choices offered to customers. The next mentorship cohorts open for registration in August and November, so more newly trained installers should be entering the market this coming year.