Brownfield Solar Farm – Beneficial Reuse in DePue, Illinois

Ameresco will be bringing a first-of-its-size solar energy project to a brownfield in DePue, IL with an opportunity to redevelop this land into a source of clean renewable energy. The scale of this project will allow DePue to meaningfully contribute to Illinois’s green energy goals.

The DePue Solar project will feature a 27 MW solar farm, comprised of more than 71,000 panels. In year one, the project will generate nearly 37,000 megawatt hours of green, emission-free energy. In order to protect the existing remediation on brownfield sites, solar arrays do not penetrate the ground, instead racking systems are carefully installed on ballast blocks entirely above ground.

Power generated from the solar PV will be connected to the utility grid. From there, it will either be purchased by Ameren or sold to corporate off-takers interested in purchasing electricity from a renewable source. Once the solar farm is generating power, Ameresco will sell Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to various local utilities.

As the primary contractor, Ameresco is responsible for the development, design, and construction of this project. The company will also own, operate, and maintain the solar facility – Ameresco’s largest solar farm to date. System design is underway. Construction is expected to start in the summer of 2020 and be completed by the end of that year.