ComEd announced the launch of a community solar project in Kankakee County that offers qualified ComEd customers throughout northern Illinois access to solar energy and savings of up to $1,000 annually on their electricity bills for a three-year subscription term. The Gar Creek solar project will serve up to 600 customers, and applications will be accepted through April 15 at ComEd.com/GiveARay. The project is owned by Fosler Solar, a Babcock & Wilcox company in Freeport, Ill., and was developed by Trajectory Energy Partners of Illinois.
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Community solar facilities are shared by subscribers who earn credits on their electricity bills for their share of the power produced by a solar array. The Gar Creek project is part of ComEd’s “Give-A-Ray” program, which increases access to clean, solar energy for low and moderate income customers. The Gar Creek project is open to qualified customers who live anywhere in ComEd’s northern Illinois region. ComEd will pay all subscription fees on behalf of customers and manage enrollment.
“At ComEd, we are committed to making the transition to clean energy as inclusive as possible, and the Gar Creek project will help us achieve that goal,” said Scott Vogt, vice president of energy acquisition at ComEd. “Our partners at Fosler Solar and Trajectory Energy share our vision, and we are excited to work with them to provide qualified customers anywhere in our region with access to solar energy regardless of their income level.”
The program is enabled by Illinois Solar for All, which helps make solar installations more affordable through state incentives, and through ComEd’s partnerships with community solar developers. The first program of its kind in Illinois, Give-A-Ray was launched last year with a community solar project that serves qualified customers in the Rockford area.
“The Gar Creek community solar project provides a unique opportunity for qualified customers to access clean, solar energy and realize meaningful savings on their energy bill,” said Nathaniel Dick, director of energy, Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc., which supports enrollment in the project. “ComEd’s Give-A-Ray community solar program helps reduce the energy burden at our sites for low-to-moderate income families.”
By the end of this year, ComEd expects to have more than 80 community solar projects interconnected to its grid, enabling residential customers to participate in the benefits of solar energy without needing to install solar panels on their own homes. Last year ComEd also received – for the third year in a row – more than 10,000 applications from residential, commercial and industrial customers to connect distributed energy resources like solar energy to the ComEd system.
The Gar Creek community solar project is located in a low-income neighborhood and includes two solar arrays with a combined solar generation capacity of 3.5 megawatts. One of the nation’s leading community solar developers, Trajectory Energy Partners develops projects across Illinois with a focus on creating energy bill savings for qualified residents, non-profits and public facilities in environmental justice and low-income areas.