ENGIE North America is launching two new community solar farms in Knox County, Illinois, that will supply clean energy to the state’s power grid.
Community solar subscription management company Ampion will oversee subscriber enrollment and customer service, while ENGIE will own and operate the farms’ output.
Located in Galesburg, the Knox 2A and Knox 2B projects will produce more than 8.2 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually. They will be avoiding over 7,800 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, the equivalent of taking 1,655 cars off the road for a year.
When customers subscribe to a share of the farms’ output, they will receive credits on their monthly power bills, effectively reducing their costs. More than 60% of the subscriptions are allocated to low-to-moderate income households. They will receive 20% savings on the value of solar bill credits applied to their monthly statements.
“Community solar is about more than clean power. It’s about ensuring that households – including those with the greatest need – share in the benefits of the shift to clean energy,” said Kristen Fornes, Head of Distributed Solar and Storage for ENGIE, in a statement. “These projects in Knox County show how renewable energy can strengthen communities, reduce costs and create a healthier future for families.”
The Knox solar farms will provide savings to 443 households and businesses while advancing Illinois’ clean and equitable energy access goals.
Nate Owen, Ampion’s CEO and founder, added, “Ampion is proud to work with ENGIE to help low-to-moderate income families in Illinois access the cost-saving benefits of community solar. With the majority of the benefits reserved for households enrolled in programs like LIHEAP, Medicaid, and SNAP, these solar farms will deliver much-needed electricity savings. We look forward to working with ENGIE throughout the course of these projects, while ensuring subscribers receive real cost savings on their utility bills.”
Read more here.