Illinois Solar for All

Could Your Church Qualify for Illinois Solar for All?

The Illinois Solar for All (ILSFA) program offers significant incentives for nonprofits—like Episcopal churches—to go solar. One of the key requirements? Your church must be located in either an Income-Qualified or Environmental Justice (EJ) community. If it meets either condition, it may be eligible under the Non-Profit and Public Buildings sub-program.

To make this easier to explore, we’ve created a combined map showing Episcopal Church properties across Illinois and whether they likely fall within any of these qualifying areas.

Learn How Your Church Can Participate:

Great News! Beginning with the 2026–2027 program year (starting June 1, 2026), eligibility for the Illinois Solar for All: Non-Profit and Public Facilities sub-program is expanding to three paths to geographically qualify. Your feedback has been heard, and the Program is making it easier for more parishes to qualify for this transformational program.

What’s Changing?

In addition to houses of worship located directly within qualifying Environmental Justice Communities (EJCs) or Income-Eligible Communities (IECs), houses of worship located adjacent to a qualifying census areas will also be eligible to participate in the Non-Profit and Public Facilities sub-program.

Based on the recent update to the , this Non-Profit and Public Facilities sub-program eligibility update is intended to broaden access to solar energy and electricity savings for qualifying Critical Service Providers, including houses of worship,  that serve and are embedded in income-eligible and environmental justice communities, even if their property boundaries happen to fall just outside of designated census tracts or were not previously encompassed by calculation methods.

Non-profits and public facilities should note that entities participating in the sub-program must be Critical Service Providers who offer services to the income-eligible residents of EJCs, IECs, or adjacent census areas.

How Churches Can Qualify in 2026-2027:

In addition to the new adjacency qualification, entirely new maps were released by the Illinois Solar for All program on April 30, 2026, expanding EJC classification in rural areas. Thus, qualified Critical Service Providers, including houses of worship, may geographically qualify through being located in any one of the following three pathways:

  • Within the 2026 EJC and IEC map designations;
  • Within the legacy EJC and IEC map designations from 2023 and 2025, respectively; OR
  • Adjacent to either the current or legacy EJC and IEC designations (new for 2026-2027). 

Why This Matters

Solar energy can significantly lower long-term energy costs and support your church’s mission to care for God’s creation. Illinois has several programs, including ILSFA to help houses of worship reimburse the costs of  Navigating eligibility requirements can be daunting. This tool is designed to make that first step simple and clear.

What This Means for Your Church

  • This upcoming program year creates more opportunities for houses of worship to participate in the Illinois Solar for All program!
  • If your church is located next to (adjacent to) either a current or legacy qualifying IEC or EJC designation, it may be eligible to participate in solar through the Illinois Solar for All: Non-Profit and Public Facilities sub-program.
  • Churches previously considered “just outside” qualifying areas or located in rural areas are strongly encouraged to re-evaluate their eligibility and check back throughout May and June 2026 for more updates and attend Eco DioChicago grassroots education events.

Next Steps

  • Review Eco DioChicago’s new combined Illinois Solar for All maps below, which include all currently released qualifying path maps for the 2026–2027 Program Year.
  • If your church was previously ineligible based on location, it is worth taking another look, and even if your church remains geographically ineligible, there are still processes worth considering to self-designate your census tract.
  • We know this is a lot of information, so please reach out! Contact Eco DioChicago (ellie@ecodiochicago.org or richard@ecodiochicago.org) for assistance in confirming eligibility and navigating next steps like help for searching for Approved Vendors to seek multiple quotes to begin your solar journey.

Explore the Map →

Still Have Questions?

What if my Church isn’t in a qualifying zone? Don’t worry! There may be other programs or ways to help your net-zero journey, from the ILSFA community solar program to Illinois Shines. We’re here to help. Contact Eco DioChicago to learn more about how your church can benefit from Illinois Solar for All.

Send an email to ecodiochicago@gmail.com and we will get back to you promptly.