The first community solar project in Illinois to include a battery energy storage system is now up and running in the Ameren Illinois area. A project like this one just went live in the ComEd area.
The 6.9-MW Beard Solar project is located in Beardstown, Illinois. It is combined with an 11.9-MWh energy storage system owned by Equity Solar Illinois (ESI). The project was planned and built by US Solar and battery integrator Eneon-ES, working together.
Rena Henderson Mason, ESI Principal, remarked,
“Beard Solar shows how important storage is for modernizing our energy grid and making clean energy more accessible.”
“This project shows that ESI is dedicated to combining clean energy growth with making a difference in the community to build a grid that works for everyone.”
Beard Solar will help local small companies and other customers save money on energy prices and provide local governments with more tax money. For instance, Beardstown Community Unit School District 15 will get around $205,000 in tax money throughout the course of the project (about 20 years).
Huang Lu, Chief Technical Officer of Eneon, stated,
“We’re proud to be a part of a clean energy project that is the first of its kind in Ameren Illinois territory.”
“This project gives Illinois communities firm, dispatchable power and makes the grid more resilient by combining solar with storage.”
