Summit Ridge Energy, ComEd open 2,495 MW Speedway Solar project in northern Illinois

The 75th community solar development in ComEd’s service territory entered service last week, with the opening of the 2,495 MW Speedway Solar project as created by Summit Ridge Energy (SRE).

The project consists of more than 2,300 solar panels spread across 31 acres of land. It will allow more than 350 ComEd customers without the roof space or financial means to install their own solar energy generation to benefit from solar energy use. It will benefit the community solar subscription program, specifically allowing those customers to earn credits on their monthly utility bills for their portion of the energy produced by Speedway Solar.

“The completion of 75 community solar developments in our service territory is a major milestone on our path to a clean energy future,” Scott Vogt, vice president of strategy and energy policy at ComEd, said. “Our collaboration with Summit Ridge Energy is expanding customer access to clean and affordable renewable energy and contributing to the goal of reducing carbon emissions in our communities.”

With projects like this in tow, the company plans to have doubled the number of community solar projects interconnected to its electric grid to more than 150 by the end of 2023. Last year, ComEd received more than 19,000 applications from residential, commercial, and industrial customers looking to connect solar panels and other distributed energy resources to its grid – a 74 percent increase compared to the previous year.

The company is planning for the growth of rooftop and community solar systems to reach five times what they are today to approximately 3,300 MW by 2030. As part of this, ComEd filed new multi-year grid and rate plans in January to pursue physical and digital infrastructure upgrades.

As to SRE, the Speedway Solar project added to a portfolio of more than 250 MW of solar deployed across Illinois, making it the largest commercial solar developer and owner-operator in the state.

“We are excited to build on our long-standing partnership with ComEd by developing its 75th community solar project in northern Illinois,” Mark Raeder, principal at SRE, said. “We credit ComEd for helping to accelerate the growth of community solar in the region and establishing Illinois as a leader in the fast-growing community solar sector.”