A former Illinois coal mine now has 16,000 solar panels, enough to power 7,000 homes

In central Illinois, a former coal mine has been repurposed to produce solar electricity, showing how retired industrial property can be used to supply lower-cost, cleaner energy.

Residents, officials, and other guests gathered in Minonk on June 16 to mark the debut of a 16,000-panel community solar project.

What happened?

According to WMBD, the new community solar farm is Woodford County's first community project under Illinois Shines, a state program that offers incentives to developers and homeowners for adopting solar. The 42-acre installation consists of two solar fields and is expected to deliver more than 9.8 megawatts of renewable power, enough for more than 7,000 homes annually.

Households can take part without putting panels on their own roofs. WMBD reported that Nexamp, TurningPoint Energy, and ComEd developed and now operate the site, which uses a subscription model, allowing residents to access solar power through the shared facility.

Jessica Collingsworth, Nexamp's central policy director, said, "anyone can subscribe, regardless of the status of your roof or if you own or rent."

WMBD reported that Illinois Shines fully funded the farm and that it took about two years to go from idea to completion. It is also one of the early projects on the ComEd system to use distributed energy resource management systems, or DERMS, to help manage energy flow on the grid.

Why does it matter?

Projects like this can make daily life easier for people who want lower electricity bills but do not have the option of installing solar panels on their own rooftops. That includes renters, people with shaded roofs, and households that cannot afford the high upfront cost of a home system.

If you want to make the switch to solar, EnergySage can connect you with vetted local installers, and save you up to $10,000 on your installation. If owning your panels isn't in your budget, Palmetto's $0 down LightReach leasing program can save you up to 20 percent on your monthly energy bill. 

Community solar can also help stabilize energy costs over time. WMBD, citing a Nexamp fact sheet, reported that subscribers do not face sign-up or cancellation charges and are billed only for the solar power they receive.

Replacing electricity generated from fossil fuels with solar power can help reduce the air pollution associated with burning coal and gas while putting former industrial land back to productive use.

A property once tied to coal production is now supplying cleaner electricity to thousands of homes.

The Minonk site is part of a larger pipeline of clean energy development in the area. Jordan Belknap, TurningPoint's director of development, said, "these projects are just two of the five projects that we've permitted in the city of Minonk." He added that three more are planned once grid upgrades are completed, WMBD reported. 

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