Ameren Illinois on Tuesday unveiled the completion of the second of its two solar farms in East St. Louis in the utility’s effort to create more sustainable energy.
The more than 3,000-panel facility, located on the north side of town near the Gordon Bush School, will produce nearly 1.4 megawatts of power that can energize 650 homes in the region, according to the company.
“This pilot is an incredible victory for our region and for clean energy,” said Kristol Simms, senior vice president of clean energy transition for Ameren Illinois.
The power generated from harnessing the sun’s energy will help fuel the grid for customers in the eastern half of East St. Louis, said Lenny Singh, president and chairman of Ameren Illinois.
When the sun goes down, a 500-kilowatt battery will store excess electricity to continue powering the grid. This location also has an electric vehicle charging station.
The project, known as East St. Louis Energy Center II, is part of the first renewable energy project approved under the Illinois General Assembly’s Climate and Equitable Jobs Act — 2021 legislation that aims to transition Illinois to 100% renewable energy by 2050. The legislation, also known as CEJA, opened the door for the $6.9 million project.
In December 2022, Ameren Illinois completed construction of its first solar farm in East St. Louis. That project, located on 17 acres across the street from East St. Louis High School, consists of 5,700 panels and cost $10.2 million.
It was a requirement of CEJA to be built in a community that had been historically disadvantaged.
Prior to Ameren purchasing the parcel, vacant homes sat on the property. It’s what local officials call a brownfield, a previously developed location in an urban area that’s since been abandoned.
“It's hard to redevelop brownfields,” said Mark Kern, chairman of St. Clair County Board. “Many solar projects that we see are in farm fields or throughout the county in rural areas. But it is intentional that Ameren came to the City of Champions, a city of firsts and a city that now is the proving ground for Ameren to be able to build these facilities in other communities.”
East St. Louis resident Imogene Hairston, who lives just up the street from the new facility, said she’s happy to see the space used for renewable energy.
“It's nice to see all the trees and weeds gone and to be developed into something else,” she said.
The completion of the East St. Louis farm is just the latest investment in solar for the region’s largest energy provider.
CEJA is also funding another similar Ameren Illinois project in Peoria.
Ameren Missouri acquired a facility in Beardstown, Illinois, earlier this year that will produce 150 megawatts of power. Another in northeast Missouri will produce 200 megawatts and another in southern Illinois will create 150 megawatts. Both are scheduled to open this year.
“We are in an energy revolution,” said Deko Devins, president of Azimuth Energy, which engineered the East St. Louis site. “As we transition from fossil fuels to clean renewable energy, we can either be bystanders and watch it happen, or we can be the designers and the workers that carve the future we want to see."
Correction: Ameren funded the solar projects. An earlier version of this story incorrectly listed the funding provider.
