Solar farm at Plano water treatment plant fully operational

City of Plano officials announced last week that its solar farm, which was fully energized in late 2019 on the grounds of the city’s water treatment plant, is fully operational and performing as expected.

The ground and roof-mounted solar system will generate more than 1.2 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) a year and provide power to the plant on South Hale Street.

“The city of Plano and their consultant, Progressive Business Solutions, reviewed several potential locations and ultimately decided the best fit was to use vacant land next to the current water treatment plant. The solar field has helped the city save money, reduce our dependence on traditional fossil fuels and provides a good example of how the city continues to be environmental stewards for today and the future,” Mayor Robert Hausler said in a statement.

The state of Illinois made funds available for the project in 2019 and 2020 from the Adjustable Block Program under the Future Energy Jobs Act that passed in December 2016. Area residents, businesses, governmental organizations and nonprofits all pay into a renewable energy fund that is collected on each customer’s monthly ComEd bill. The available funds were highly competitive in that less than 30% of the applications submitted received approval.

“We are pleased to have delivered on our commitment to develop projects that provide environmentally friendly, low-cost power for the city of Plano,” said Chris Childress, development director at Progressive Business Solutions.

Plano’s solar farm joins Kendall County, Fox Metro Water Reclamation and Mooseheart Child City as the largest “behind the meter” solar development in the Fox Valley area.

The Plano solar field was built, owned and operated by WCP Solar of Naperville, the successful low bidder.

“This development will generate over 1.2 million kWh per year and 30 million kWh over the term of the project. For reference, the average home consumes around 10,000 kWh per year,” said Dr. Everton Walters, president of WCP Solar. “We appreciate being selected by the city of Plano and are pleased to get this project online and energized.”

“No new taxpayer dollars were used to build the solar fields,” said Arnie Schramel, Progressive Business Solutions’ managing partner. “We helped originate, competitively bid the solar field construction and found the financial resources to fund the project.”

The city of Plano will receive about 65% of its power from the field to run the water treatment facility at a cost substantially below market for a period of 25 years,” Schramel said.

Cost reduction is not the only benefit for the city. By generating more than 30 million kWh during the project, it will reduce carbon emissions by more than 8,484 metric tons. According to the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalency Calculator, that is equivalent to eliminating more than 9,135 passenger cars or eliminating 23 million gallons of gasoline.