Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker joined Reactivate and ComEd in Chicago Heights to announce the 100th community solar site in northern Illinois, which will serve low-to-moderate income ComEd customers, and is one of the first community solar sites located in a Cook County environmental justice community. The solar farm, Verduin, is planned to be placed in service by the end of December.
“Since Day 1 as Governor, I’ve made it my mission to advance clean energy throughout our state, ushering in a new era of environmental justice and sustainability for every community,” said Governor J.B. Pritzker. “That’s why, in 2021, I signed my administration’s landmark Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), which increased funding for the Illinois Solar for All program, giving lower-income customers access to initiatives like Reactivate’s Verduin community solar project. This is exactly the kind of partnership that benefits our communities, our environment, and our economy all in one, and I am so thankful for ComEd and Reactivate’s leadership and collaboration to make our vision a reality.”
Community solar allows all ComEd customers to realize the benefits of clean solar energy without installing solar panels of their own. Participants subscribe to a solar project owned by an independent developer and earn credits on their monthly ComEd bills for their portion of the energy produced by the project. In Illinois, community solar customers can subscribe up to 200% of their last 12 months of electricity usage. Energy generated by the community solar project flows to ComEd’s grid and becomes part of the overall energy supply.
“We are proud to partner with Reactivate and to support their leading efforts to help more customers reduce their energy costs and reduce their own carbon footprint through community solar,” said Gil Quiniones, CEO of ComEd. “These projects will enable ComEd customers, particularly low-to-moderate income customers, to save money on their electric bills while supporting the expansion of renewable energy and Illinois’ ambitious clean energy goals.”
Reactivate’s Verduin community solar project in Chicago Heights includes approximately 5,200 solar panels and occupies approximately 20 acres on Cottage Grove Avenue. It will serve approximately 660 customers. Reactivate has five additional community solar projects underway in northern Illinois: in Chicago Heights, Ford Heights, Monee, Granite City and Rockford. These six projects will generate approximately 10.5 MW of clean energy in total and will serve the energy needs of approximately 3,000 homes, of which the majority are low-to-moderate income households.
ComEd customers can visit this website to learn more about solar options, the interconnection process and use the ComEd community solar calculator, which provides an estimate for potential customer savings. Customers interested in subscribing to Reactivate’s projects can visit this website.
News item from ComEd
