Ameren Illinois broke ground today on a solar energy facility in Peoria. The 2.5-megawatt Peoria Solar Energy Center will produce enough electricity to power 420 homes and businesses and provide an economic boost to the region. It is the third renewable power generation facility built and operated by Ameren Illinois in the last 28 years.
“At a time when the demand for electricity is outpacing supply in Downstate Illinois, more energy needs to be generated and connected to the grid faster to provide reliability and cost saving benefits for our customers,” said Lenny Singh, Chairman and President of Ameren Illinois. “Thanks to a provision in the state’s Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, the Peoria Solar Energy Center – alongside our two other solar facilities in East St. Louis – will produce clean, reliable, and equitable energy in the community, for the community.
The facility will be constructed on a 37-acre site on Prichard Road in northwest Peoria and feature nearly 5,000 solar panels which will harness energy from the sun and feed clean power onto Ameren Illinois’ distribution system.
The Peoria Solar Energy Center is a continuation of Ameren Illinois’ commitment to powering a stronger regional economy. In the last 7 years, the company has invested $112.4 million to improve reliability in the Peoria Metro area, including high voltage transmission infrastructure, new substations, and automation to detect outages and restore power faster.
City and county officials, lawmakers and union leaders gathered this morning at the construction site along with Ameren Illinois leaders and frontline workers.
In September 2021, Governor JB Pritzker signed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), setting Illinois on the path to a clean energy goal of 100% by 2050 and a renewable energy goal of 50% by 2040. CEJA enabled Ameren Illinois to develop, own, and operate three utility-scale solar facilities.
“Our partnership is an example of what we can achieve when we are intentional about our impact and when we pursue perfect energy. Ameren has shown that through creative partnerships, they can successfully build and deploy equitable, affordable, distribution-scale solar energy projects in local communities. As we transition to clean, renewable energy, we can either be bystanders and watch it happen, or we can be the designers and the workers that carve the future we want to see. This project is another example of the opportunity ahead of us,” said Deko Devins, President, Azimuth Energy.
***Courtesy of Ameren Illinois***
