2.5-megawatt Elwood solar farm put to use

ComEd and Summit Ridge Energy have announced the opening of a solar project in the Elwood area.

The nearly 2.5-megawatt Speedway Solar Project includes 2,300 solar panels on 31 acres along West Sharp Road.

The facility is located in a farm field south of Joliet, according to news release from ComEd.

Scott Vogt, vice president of strategy and energy policy at ComEd, in a news release called the new solar operation “a major milestone in our path to a clean energy future.”

The Speedway Solar Project began operating at the start of February.

Summit Ridge Energy, which has other solar facilities in Illinois, developed the Elwood solar project.

The facility provides more than 350 ComEd customers with access to solar energy, ComEd said in its news release.

“It will enable ComEd customers who may not have the roof space or financial means to install their own solar energy generation system to realize the benefits of solar energy,” ComEd said in the release.

Utility customers are able to subscribe with ComEd to use energy produced by the solar facility. Energy generated by the Elwood solar facility flows to the electric grid to become part of the the overall energy supply, the release said.