This month the Springfield City Council approved City Water, Light and Power’s proposal for a 25-year purchase power agreement for 25 MW of solar energy and capacity.
The contract with Sangamon Solar LLC will be fulfilled by an upcoming 100 MW, 750-acre solar installation to be built in Sangamon County south of Chatham. CWLP reports that the project, expected to start construction in 2026 and begin operation in 2028, will involve a number of local construction and maintenance jobs.
The amount of energy expected from the project represents about 6.5% of CWLP customer energy load. Other renewables in CWLP’s current energy portfolio include 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.
Located in proximity to CWLP transmission lines, power generated at Sangamon Solar’s facilities will be able to go direct into CWLP’s system, allowing delivery of electricity directly to CWLP customers to avoid transmission congestion on the grid.
CWLP Chief Utility Engineer Doug Brown said the agreement will provide 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.
“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.”
