One of the largest commercial airport solar generation projects in the USA.
Project Details
Rockford Solar Farm at the Chicago Rockford International Airport in Rockford, Illinois, USA, one of the largest commercial airport solar farms in the USA and a landmark achievement in complex intergovernmental cooperation in solar power plant development
- The 62 MW Rockford Solar Farm Project is located at the Chicago Rockford International Airport in Rockford, Illinois, USA is one of the largest commercial airport solar farms in the United States and currently generates 3,900 MWh/year
- The Project’s 3.06 MW Phase I is complete and was fully operational in 2012 with 56 additional acres fully approved by Rockford, Winnebago County, State of Illinois and the FAA for immediate development of the 14 MW Phase II and scaling the Project to 62 MW
- The off-taker is Ameren Illinois, Ameren serves 1.2 million electric customers in central and southern Illinois. The PPA term is 20 years
Strategically Located
The neighborhood surrounding the Greater Rockford International Airport is adequately supported with infrastructure, public policy and opportunistic linkages to attract logistics related growth
State and Federal Support
Federal and state policies continue to support Rockford Solar and the renewable energy industry in the U.S. with solar projects like Rockford Solar being more adaptable to varied environments
Solar Farm Performance
The solar farm has historically produced more power than anticipated per the original design criteria. The solar farm’s 2014 delivery year energy production of 3.767 MWh produced 0.338 MWh over and above the contracted electrical energy supply requirement and the 2015 production of 3.934 MWh similarly overproduced 0.505 MWh excess energy
Expansion
Phase II and Phase III expansion are fully approved for development with land commitments in place and will provide for additional energy generation to the grid and economic growth for the Rockford area
Landmark Achievement
The Rockford Solar Farm is unique in comparison to other power projects undertaken in the country and represents a landmark achievement in complex solar power plant development as the Project was a model public-private partnership, bringing together domestic & foreign companies, community groups and Federal, State & local governmental authorities
Renewable Energy Credits
RECs for excess power above the annual quantity commitment can be banked and/or sold on the current Illinois REC market. The 2016 production year over-production allowed 437 RECs to be banked and with previous year over-production banking of 343 RECs produced 780 RECs
