Community solar farms cropping up in Whiteside County, offering lower power bills

MORRISON – ComEd customers are being invited to enroll in a solar energy program powered by four new community solar farms that went online Tuesday in Whiteside County.

The four farms have a total capacity of 11.2 megawatts, which can power about 1,600 homes and small businesses, according to a news release from Engie North America, the Houston-based arm of French utility company Engie that developed and built the farms, and Solstice, a Boston-based community solar provider that enrolls customers and manages their accounts.

The solar farms are built on land that has been supplemented with native prairie pollinator habitats, the release said. Three are in Lyndon – one at 19742 Bunker Hill Road and two at the same site at 12213 Yorktown Road – and the fourth is at 14488 Hillside Road in Morrison. Each will pay about $11,000 in annual property taxes.

Their development and construction involved about 80 full-time workers.

ComEd customers who enroll in the program may save up to an estimated 20% on the supply portion of their monthly electric bills and receive a $100 enrollment bonus, the release said. They need not live in Whiteside County to participate; enrollment will be closed once 1,600 or so businesses and individuals have signed up.

Residents who enroll in community solar are allocated a portion of a solar farm based on their annual electricity usage. They receive credits for the electricity their solar panels produce on their utility bills.

“Through a subscription-based model, community solar makes clean energy accessible to renters, apartment-dwellers and those who are unable to put solar panels on their roofs,” the release said.

“We are pleased to develop community solar projects that empower Illinois residents to take part in the clean energy transition,” Luis Felipe Birolini, head of distributed renewables for ENGIE North America, said in the release.

“The projects demonstrate Engie North America’s belief that good business must also be good for the environment and communities. In conjunction with Solstice, our solar projects enable more Americans to save money while supporting the installation of clean, local energy – produced right here in northern Illinois.”

Participation in the program is free; go to enroll.solstice.us/il to sign up or for more information.

Both Engie and Solstice are working through the Illinois Shines Program, also known as the Adjustable Block Program, implemented by the Illinois Power Agency to promote new solar development.

These community solar farms produce local solar power and renewable energy credits that are sold to the Illinois Shines program to help the state reach its renewable energy goals.

This is not the first community solar project to get going in Whiteside County and invite enrollment.

One owned by Borrego Solar Systems (www.clearwaycommunitysolar.com) at 12876 Blue Goose Road on the eastern outskirts of Morrison began producing energy in the fall, and another, at 3921 Matznick Road in Tampico owned by Nexamp Community Solar (illinois.nexamp.com), has gotten its permits and will be activated soon, Building and Zoning Administrator Suzy Stickle said.

Two more are in the process of getting their permits, Stickle said.

Last month, a 2.3-megawatt solar farm developed and owned by Bluestem Energy Solutions (www.bluestemenergysolutions.com), became operational in Mount Carroll and Apple Canyon Lake. Omaha-based Bluestem Energy Solutions partnered with Jo-Carroll Energy for the project, which has two solar array sites.

Community solar farms produce up to 2 megawatts of energy, as opposed to utility farms, which can produce far more.

Three major utility-grade farms are in the works in Lee County.

The Lee County Board is poised to vote on a 3,800-acre solar project proposed just south of Dixon.

South Dixon Solar LLC, with Duke Energy Renewables, is petitioning the county for a special-use permit to build a 500-megawatt utility-grade project south of the industrial park on state Route 26 in South Dixon Township.

Minnesota-based Geronimo Energy was approved in September for a 175-megawatt, 1,300-acre solar farm near Eldena, and special-use permits have been granted for Steward Creek Solar LLC, of Virginia-based Hexagon Energy, to build a 600-megawatt solar farm across 5,000 acres in Alto and Willow Creek townships near Steward and Lee.