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Commission Approves 600 MW of Energy Storage Projects
| On September 1, 2026 the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) approved the results of the IPA’s Summer 2026 Energy Storage Procurement for utility-scale energy storage projects. Following ICC approval, contracts were awarded to support the development of 600 megawatts (MW) of new energy storage projects all located in Illinois.
The Agency’s procurement administrator, NERA Economic Consulting, issued the Summer 2026 Energy Storage RFP on behalf of the IPA with a goal to procure 1,038 MW of new storage resources – split by 450 MW from projects in the MISO territory and 588 MW from projects in the PJM territory, as required under Illinois law. The quantity of megawatts procured fell short of the 1,038 MW target set for this initial procurement event by a total of 438 MW. A total of 520 MW of storage resources were procured from the MISO territory and 80 MW of storage resources were procured from the PJM territory. The results of the Summer 2026 Energy Storage Procurement event mark a consequential moment in Illinois’s forward progress on enhancing energy reliability and affordability. The Summer 2026 Energy Storage Procurement is the first of several storage procurements outlined in CRGA, which specifically calls for additional procurements to occur in 2027 and 2028 to meet an initial target of 3,000 megawatts of energy storage resources committed to reaching commercial operation by December 31, 2030. For more information, please see the full announcement on the IPA website. For updates on the Agency’s continued work on energy storage, please visit the IPA’s Energy Storage web page. |
