Ameren Illinois has brought a $20 million solar facility online in northwest Peoria, adding locally generated electricity and battery storage to its distribution grid. The project, built on about 37 acres, is the utility’s third solar generation site developed under Illinois’ Climate and Equitable Jobs Act and is designed to supply power for about 420 homes and businesses.
Key takeaways
Ameren’s new facility combines 5,000 solar panels with a battery system intended to help deliver energy when demand is high. The project adds 2.5 megawatts of solar generation capacity and continues a broader program of electric-grid investment in the Peoria area.
- The $20 million site is located along Prichard Road, just west of Pottstown.
- Ameren says it can produce enough electricity to serve about 420 homes and businesses.
- A 1.5-megawatt battery system stores excess solar energy for later use.
- The project is Ameren Illinois’ third solar facility built under CEJA.
Solar generation and storage in one facility
The Peoria Renewable Energy Center spans roughly 37 acres and contains about 5,000 solar panels. Its generation system supplies 2.5 megawatts of power to Ameren’s electricity distribution grid. The utility said the facility came online more than a year after construction began.
The site also includes a 1.5-megawatt battery energy storage system provided by Texas-based ELM MicroGrid. It is designed to store surplus electricity produced during peak solar generation and make that energy available to the grid when demand rises. Ameren and ELM said the combined system can help manage renewable generation and support grid stability.
Part of Illinois’ clean-energy transition
Illinois’ Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, signed by Gov. JB Pritzker in 2021, sets a goal of using 100% clean energy by 2050. The Peoria project joins two solar sites in East St. Louis as part of Ameren Illinois’ facilities developed under the law.
Ameren Illinois chairman and president Patrick Smith said local projects can add needed supply amid rising electricity demand and constraints on supply. He also said the company aims to show it can deliver energy projects efficiently.
Broader investment in the Peoria area
Ameren said it has invested more than $112.4 million in the Peoria metropolitan area over the past seven years. The work includes new substations, improvements to high-voltage transmission infrastructure, and technology intended to identify outages and speed power restoration.
The solar facility adds another type of energy infrastructure to that investment, combining renewable generation with storage that can shift some electricity to periods when it is more needed.
