ComEd and SunVest Activate Community Solar Farms in Dekalb and Freeport

October 12, 2023 at 13:01 PM EDT

Four new projects to help meet growing customer demand for clean and renewable energy

ComEd and SunVest Solar today announced the completion of four new community solar projects in northern Illinois – two each in Dekalb and Freeport. There are now 88 community solar projects operating in the ComEd service territory, enabling more ComEd customers to save money on their electric bills while supporting the expansion of renewable energy and Illinois’ clean energy goals.

“ComEd and SunVest are proud to play leading roles in the growth of community solar in Illinois,” said Scott Vogt, ComEd’s vice president of Strategy and Energy Policy. “Momentum continues to grow as more customers learn about community solar and how it enables them to access clean and renewable energy with little effort on their part. By the end of 2023, we expect to have 100 community solar projects serving about 25,000 customers.”

The two SunVest community solar farms in Dekalb occupy 24 acres on Gurler Road and include more than 9,400 solar panels. The two new solar farms in Freeport occupy 23 acres on South Cranes Grove Road and include more than 11,650 solar panels. Collectively, these four solar farms have a generation capacity totaling 12 megawatts (MW) of clean energy, enough to serve the needs of nearly 1,700 average Illinois homes.

“We are pleased to help make the ComEd region one of the nation’s fastest growing markets for community solar,” said Bram Walters, CEO of Chicago-based SunVest Solar. “SunVest will have developed over 57 MW of community solar projects in northern Illinois by the end of this year, which will significantly increase the opportunity for ComEd customers to enjoy the benefits of community solar.”

Community solar allows all ComEd customers to access the benefits of clean solar energy without installing solar panels of their own. Participants subscribe to a solar energy farm of solar panels owned by an independent developer and earn credits on their monthly ComEd bills for their portion of the energy produced by the project. Energy generated by the community solar project flows to ComEd’s grid and becomes part of the overall energy supply. Customers usually subscribe to receive enough electricity to offset their annual usage. In most cases, ComEd customers can subscribe to a community solar project located anywhere in the ComEd region, provided it is not fully subscribed.

ComEd has recently launched a community solar calculator that helps customers determine the most appropriate subscription size and provides estimated costs and savings: www.ComEd.com/SolarCalc.

Illinois’ Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), which was enacted in 2021, increases support for renewable energy to reach 40 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040. It creates nearly 9,800 megawatts of new solar capacity and increases funding for the Illinois Solar for All program — which gives lower-income customers access to solar power — from $30 million to $70 million annually.

The multi-year grid and rate plans that ComEd filed with the Illinois Commerce Commission earlier this year support this rapid expansion of renewable energy and help ensure equitable access to the benefits of clean energy under CEJA. The plans align with ComEd 2030, the company's recently announced vision for a carbon-free energy future that will benefit all communities and meet customers' changing needs for the rest of this decade and beyond.

ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC), a Fortune 250 energy company with approximately 10 million electricity and natural gas customers – the largest number of customers in the U.S. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population. For more information visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

SunVest is a rapidly growing leader in renewable energy, establishing itself as a vertically integrated distributed generation platform with expertise across the value chain, including development, construction, financing, and operations. SunVest is advancing an industry-leading pipeline of nearly 2 gigawatts of development projects, with a growing portfolio of assets under management expected to reach 250 megawatts in 2023. SunVest is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, visit www.sunvest.com.