This month the Springfield City Council approved City Water, Light and Power’s (CWLP’s) proposal for a 25-year, solar contract for 25 MW of energy and capacity. The contract with Sangamon Solar LLC, is in conjunction with a new 100 MW, 750-acre solar installation to be built in Sangamon County south of Chatham. The project, expected to start construction in 2026 and begin operation in 2028, will equate to a number of local construction and maintenance jobs.
“Adding more solar resources for CWLP is a goal I’ve had since taking office,” said Mayor Misty Buscher. “I like that Springfield can have diverse energy options to serve our citizens and that we have this installation being local to CWLP’s transmission lines, which is great for the city.”
The project located in proximity to CWLP transmission lines goes direct into CWLP’s system, allowing delivery of electricity directly to CWLP customers and avoiding transmission congestion on the grid. The amount of energy expected from the project represents about 6.5% of CWLP customer energy load.
CWLP Chief Utility Engineer Doug Brown said the contract, a purchase power agreement (PPA), provides an affordable energy resource to add to CWLP’s portfolio. “Solar is a good fit to our portfolio and securing this contract at a good price is the right thing for our customers by further reducing some of our market purchase exposure to higher costs,” he said. “With this long-term contract, we are also underscoring our commitment to being an affordable, reliable and responsible energy provider to Springfield and that we can be a conduit to renewable energy that is generated locally under our public power, customer-owned operation.”
Other renewable energy in CWLP’s energy portfolio includes a 15-year wind power capacity purchase from an 185 MW project by Glacier Sands Wind Power; a 3-year solar capacity purchase from a 170 MW project; and a utility-owned and operated 250 kW solar installation by CWLP’s Washington substation.
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