‘A good deal for everyone’: Solar farm transforms Waukegan Superfund site
A long-vacant federal Superfund landfill site in Waukegan has been transformed into a clean-energy producer expected to bring substantial cost savings for some residents.
Supporters gathered Monday to celebrate the new Yeoman Creek Community Solar Farm, which is scheduled to be put in service by the end of the year on a portion of the 70-acre site on the city’s north side.
Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 owns the property, which was developed by New York-based CleanCapital under the Illinois Solar for All Low-Income Community Solar Pilot program. The company is an independent power producer that builds and operates “clean energy assets” across the country.
Through the state program, up to 1,000 eligible Waukegan homeowners and renters will save as much as 50%, or about $391 per year, on their electric bills, according to CleanCapital. Visit powermarket.io/c/wps60 to apply.
“The Yeoman solar project is the largest community solar facility in ComEd service territory, and it's completion is a major milestone for Clean Capital, as well as for Waukegan-area customers looking to reduce their energy costs,” said ComEd President and CEO Gil Quiniones.
Illinois Solar for All is a state incentive program that aims to make solar energy more affordable for eligible households, nonprofit organizations and public facilities, with no upfront charges and guaranteed savings on electric costs.
Yeoman is unusual in that it is one of only two — the other is in Sauk Village, south of Chicago — low-income community pilot projects, according to the state.
In 2019, the two projects were awarded Renewable Energy Credit contracts totaling $20 million through a competitive bidding process.
They differ from traditional Solar for All projects in that they must result in economic benefits for community members where they are located and include partnership with at least one community-based organization.
“Illinois is a national leader in making sure programs that promote clean, affordable energy, such as Community Solar, are accessible to all consumers — including people on a budget,” said Jim Chilsen, director of communications for the watchdog Citizens Utility Board.
“Programs like this not only help lower electric bills for participants, but they are a good deal for everyone because adding more solar power to the system strengthens the power grid and helps bring down electricity prices for everyone,” he added.
The solar farm has 16,796 panels to generate an estimated 13,036 MegaWatt hours of energy per year — the equivalent of 1,069 homes' annual electricity use, according to CleanCapital.
Yeoman Creek operated as a landfill from 1958 to 1969, accepting both municipal and industrial waste, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Liquid from the landfill contained chemicals and elevated concentrations of metals, and ammonia and landfill gas was detected off-site. A long-term remedy is in place and landfill gas migration and groundwater monitoring are ongoing, according to the EPA.
The land hasn’t been used for more than 50 years, according to LeBaron Moten, District 60’s deputy superintendent of operation supports and programs.
Environmental regulations made plans to build a school there impossible, he said. The district has been exploring solar development options there for more than 15 years, Moten added.