Illinois Solar Answers
Thirty guides, one per question, for ComEd and Ameren homeowners. Every rate, rebate and deadline here is tied to a dated public source — the utility's own tariff, the Illinois Commerce Commission, Illinois Shines, or the Citizens Utility Board. Two things changed in 2026: the federal homeowner tax credit expired, and systems interconnected after January 1, 2025 no longer receive full retail net metering.
By The Day Company Editorial Team · Last reviewed August 8, 2026 · We publish no figure we can’t tie to a dated public source. How we verify →
How does ComEd's virtual power plant program work?
Approved by the ICC in June 2026 · pays participating battery owners starting in 2027 · enrollment isn’t open yet. Ameren has now filed its own version — and hasn’t published what it pays.
Read the full guide →Fast answers
| Question | The short answer |
|---|---|
| What does solar actually cost in Illinois? | The state’s own modeling puts it at $3.73 per DC watt in ComEd territory and $3.66 in Ameren — roughly 20% above what national comparison sites publish for Illinois. |
| How many solar panels do I need? | Size from your own usage, not your square footage. The average Illinois home used about 693 kWh a month in 2024 (EIA), and most systems target 50–75% of that. |
| Will I still get an electric bill? | Yes. ComEd bills $15.26 customer + $3.81 metering every month before a single kWh, plus delivery on everything you draw. One exception: ComEd Hourly Pricing can zero a bill entirely. |
| Can Hourly Pricing + solar hit a $0 bill? | Yes — in some months, documented on a 2025-installed system. Delivery and $19.07 in fixed charges are never separately credited; a battery makes $0 far more repeatable. |
| Do I need a permit for solar in Chicago? | Yes, and everything turns on 13.44 kW. Below it the permit is billed as electrical work at a codified cost of about $175; at or above it the fee starts at a $1,000 minimum. |
| Do ComEd solar credits expire? | No — unused credits roll forward with no reset. On Hourly Pricing they’re dollar credits against supply, and a big enough month drives the whole bill to $0 — never to cash. |
| Is my solar quote a good deal? | There is no honest statewide price benchmark. Vet it with the signed Illinois Shines Disclosure Form, your own $/watt math, and a free PVWatts production test. |
| Why is my Ameren bill so high? | Summer supply is 11.326¢/kWh, about 39% above summer 2024. Ameren’s 800 kWh tier only applies October through May, so summer costs far more on identical usage. |
| Can my HOA block solar panels? | No. The Homeowners’ Energy Policy Statement Act (765 ILCS 165) voids outright bans and puts boards on a 90-day policy clock and a 30-day application clock. |
| Does Illinois have a state solar tax credit? | No — despite a false "25%, capped at $10,000" claim on some sites, no such credit exists in Illinois tax law. Real benefits: Illinois Shines RECs, the utility rebate, and a property-tax break. |
| What does a solar permit cost in Aurora? | Aurora prices by project valuation — about 1.75–2.5% of cost of work, plus fees — and uniquely requires a third-party inspection report before final approval. |
| Are solar panels worth it in Peoria, IL? | Ameren’s rate jumped about 29% to 11.326¢/kWh in 2026 while the federal credit ended for cash and loan buyers — Illinois Shines still pays $70.37 per REC in Ameren territory. |
| Is a home battery worth it? | ComEd’s $300/kWh rebate carries two commitments almost nobody mentions: five seasons in the 2027 virtual power plant, and Rate BESH hourly pricing for the life of the battery. |
| How does ComEd’s virtual power plant work? | The ICC approved Rider SDVPP on June 30, 2026 at $10 per kW-Season, with service beginning no later than March 1, 2027. Enrollment is not open yet. |
| What happens to ComEd rates October 1? | The summer Price to Compare of 10.399¢/kWh ends and the non-summer rate takes over. That figure isn’t published yet — and we don’t estimate it. |
| Did the federal solar tax credit end? | The homeowner credit (§25D) expired December 31, 2025. In 2026, who owns the system decides which incentives apply and who claims them. |
| Lease, PPA, or buy? | Ownership decides who gets paid. Only systems you own earn the $20-per-REC owner adder inside Illinois Shines; leased and PPA systems don’t. |
| Is my roof too shaded? | Shade cuts production, but we publish no loss percentage — no primary source does. Heavily shaded roofs route to community solar instead, which is a real option in Illinois. |
| Do panels raise my property taxes? | Illinois has a special solar valuation you claim by filing form PTAX-330 with your chief county assessment officer. It is not automatic. |
Not sure which of these applies to your house? The eligibility check reads your address, roof and utility — and tells you if rooftop solar isn’t the right fit.
Check my eligibility →Browse all 30 guides
Incentives & Programs
Illinois Shines, the utility rebates, and how the money actually flows — who gets paid, when, in writing, and what taking a rebate commits you to.
Key fact: Illinois Shines pays through published 2026–27 REC prices — and systems you own earn a $20-per-REC owner adder that leased and PPA systems don’t.
- How does ComEd's virtual power plant program work? →
- Illinois battery incentives, explained →
- How does the ComEd battery storage rebate work? →
- How does the ComEd solar rebate work? →
- Illinois Shines, explained →
- Do solar panels raise property taxes in Illinois? →
- Is a solar battery worth it? →
- How does Ameren's virtual power plant program work? →
- Does Illinois have a state solar tax credit? →
Full pillar: Illinois Solar Incentives 2026 →
Your Home & Roof
System size, permits, HOA rights, roof requirements, shade, hail, and selling with solar — the questions about your actual house.
Key fact: Illinois HOAs can’t ban rooftop solar — the Homeowners’ Energy Policy Statement Act (765 ILCS 165) voids bans and limits what boards can require.
- Can an HOA block solar panels? →
- What does your roof need to qualify? →
- Selling a house with solar →
- Is your roof too shaded for solar? →
- Do solar panels survive hail? →
- How many solar panels do I need? →
- Do you need a permit for solar in Chicago? →
- Do you need a permit for solar in Aurora? →
- Solar panels in Peoria, IL: costs & Ameren rules →
Also read: the Illinois Solar Facts hub →
Bills & Net Metering
What your bill actually looks like after solar, why it rose in the first place, what exports earn now, and when the rates reset.
Key fact: Post-2024 solar credits offset the supply portion only — yet on ComEd Hourly Pricing, one documented 2025-installed system still hit a $0 total in a single month, with the excess banked.
- Can Hourly Pricing + solar hit $0? →
- ComEd net metering, explained →
- Ameren Illinois net metering, explained →
- Will I still get an electric bill? →
- What happens to ComEd rates October 1? →
- Why is my Ameren bill so high? →
- Free home battery offers, explained →
Also read: Why is my ComEd bill so high? →
Buying & Financing
What a system costs, how to vet the quote in your hand, and who gets which incentive in 2026 — what to demand in writing before you sign anything.
Key fact: The homeowner tax credit (§25D) expired Dec 31, 2025 — in 2026, who owns the system decides which incentives apply and who claims them.
- Solar lease vs. PPA vs. buying, explained →
- Is my solar quote a good deal? →
- How much do solar panels cost in Illinois? →
- Why is my solar loan bigger than the cash price? →
- How do you verify a solar installer is legit? →
Also read: Is solar worth it in Illinois? →
How this library works
What we won’t publish: numbers we can’t tie to a dated, public primary source — no invented shade-loss percentages, no made-up battery prices, ever.
Who we are and how we make money →
How every figure gets sourced and verified →
Found an error? Here's exactly how to report it — and what happens next: Corrections →
Data & Research
The machine-readable backbone — every dated figure, both utilities, one place.
Start here
Most read
- Illinois Solar Incentives 2026
- Why Is My ComEd Bill So High?
- Did the Solar Tax Credit End?
- Is Solar Worth It in Illinois?
- ComEd Solar Guide 2026
What changed recently
- New guide published: solar panels in Peoria, IL — costs, permits, historic-district and HOA rules, and Ameren's interconnection process for the largest city in Ameren territory; guide count updated to thirty. Refreshed rev dates for four guides updated this week following real content changes: the ComEd solar rebate, Illinois Shines, solar and property taxes, and quote vetting. Extended the "Ameren customer" pathway to include Peoria. Also corrected this page's own fast-answers caption, which undercounted the table by one question — it's nineteen, now including the new Peoria row.
- Refreshed the Ameren net metering and Illinois battery incentives guides. The battery guide had a real correction: Ameren's rebate requirement changed June 1, 2026 from choosing a specific electric rate to mandatory Scheduled Dispatch VPP enrollment — matching ComEd's existing requirement, which we already had right.
- New guide published: can ComEd Hourly Pricing + solar get your bill to $0? — the hourly credit mechanism, a documented $0 month under today’s supply-only rules, and a fixed-vs-hourly-vs-battery calculator.
- Four new guides published: solar loan dealer fees, verifying an Illinois Shines Approved Vendor, Aurora solar permits, and whether Illinois has a state solar tax credit (it doesn't). Every category's guide list below is now ordered by actual click performance, not publish date.
- Five new guides published: what solar actually costs in Illinois, Chicago solar permits, why Ameren bills rose, Ameren’s virtual power plant, and the free-battery offers now reaching ComEd territory.
- Corrected the Illinois interconnection fee across the library. ComEd’s Level 1 application fee is $50; the widely-quoted $200 is a cost cap under 83 Ill. Adm. Code 466.90(c), not an application fee, and the Public Utilities Act sets no dollar figure of its own.
- Added a fast-answers table covering the most-asked Illinois solar questions, and a dated review line to this page.
- Five new guides published: system sizing, quote vetting, your bill after solar, the October rate reset, and whether a battery is worth it.
- The Illinois Commerce Commission approved ComEd’s Scheduled Dispatch virtual power plant on June 30, 2026. We published the first plain-English guide to it.
- Six Home & Roof guides published, covering HOA rights, roof requirements, shade, hail, and selling a house with solar.
- The day ComEd posts its October 1 non-summer supply rate, the rate-reset guide and every figure that depends on it get re-dated. Ameren’s October 1 price and its unpublished virtual power plant terms are on the same watch. We won’t estimate any of them before then.
Not sure where to start? Start with your address.
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Free eligibility check · ComEd & Ameren · No obligationThe Day Company is an Illinois solar and battery information resource, and a lead-generation business. Information you submit may be used by our review team and authorized partners to contact you about your request. Checking eligibility creates no obligation.
Changelog: Jul 18, 2026 — v3: added the 5 Home & Roof guides, question chips, and per-card key facts. · Jul 21, 2026 — v4: added the VPP spotlight and the 4 new Incentives & Programs guides (ComEd battery rebate, ComEd solar rebate, virtual power plant, property tax); guide count updated to fourteen. · Jul 21, 2026 — reordered grid so Your Home & Roof sits next to Incentives & Programs (the two biggest sections). · Jul 30, 2026 — v5: added 5 guides (system sizing, quote vetting, your bill after solar, the October rate reset, whether a battery is worth it); guide count updated to nineteen. · Aug 1, 2026 — v6: added the fast-answers table, an editorial byline with a dated review line, a "what changed recently" log, and a mid-page eligibility CTA; New badges now appear only on the most recently published batch of guides, and never longer than 30 days. · Aug 3, 2026 — v7: added 5 guides (Illinois solar cost, Chicago permits, why Ameren bills rose, Ameren's virtual power plant, free-battery offers); guide count updated to twenty-four; fast-answers table expanded to fifteen; added an Ameren pathway; corrected the interconnection fee library-wide. · Aug 6, 2026 — v8: added 4 guides (solar dealer fees, verifying an Illinois Shines Approved Vendor, Aurora solar permits, the Illinois state solar tax credit myth); guide count updated to twenty-eight; every category's guide list reordered by actual Search Console click performance, most-clicked first; fast-answers table expanded to seventeen; extended the "New to solar," "Protecting my home," and "Already have a quote" pathways to include the new guides. · Aug 6, 2026 — v9: added the ComEd Hourly Pricing + solar guide; guide count updated to twenty-nine; fast-answers table expanded to eighteen; extended the “Worried about my bill” pathway; corrected the Bills & Net Metering key fact and the credit-expiration fast answer to the supply-only mechanism. · Aug 7, 2026 — v10: refreshed rev dates for the Ameren net metering and Illinois battery incentives guides following real content updates to both (the battery guide's Ameren rebate requirement was corrected). · Aug 8, 2026 — v11: added the solar-panels-peoria-il guide to Your Home & Roof; guide count updated to thirty; fast-answers table expanded to nineteen and its caption's question count corrected (it had undercounted by one); extended the Ameren customer pathway; refreshed rev dates for comed-solar-rebate, illinois-shines-explained, solar-property-tax-illinois, and vetting-solar-quote-illinois following their content updates this week. · Report an error →