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Project Profile: The Brightfield Solar Project

The Brightfield Solar Project in Danville, Illinois

Ameresco completes 2.6 MW Brightfield solar project on former General Motors Powertrain
Division Plant (brownfield) site in Danville, Illinois
Source: Credit to Ameresco Inc.

Project Name

The Brightfield Solar Project in Danville, Illinois

Location

Danville, Illinois

Project Sponsor / Borrower

RACER Trust and Ameresco Inc.

Program Areas

Alternative Project DeliveryValue Capture

Value Capture Techniques Asset Recycling (recycling land for solar energy), Right-of-Way Use Agreements, Solar Energy Use
Mode

Other: Solar Energy

Description

The City of Chicago, working with DOE and Commonwealth Edison, developed an extensive plan that uses the brightfields approach to advance its economic development, climate change, air quality, and electricity reliability goals. The "brightfield" solar project in Danville, Illinois is a 2.6 MW installation in central Illinois, built on a former General Motors Powertrain Division Plant turned brownfield site. Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company, an independent power producer and green energy investment company, is the owner of the installation. The Danville Solar System is making productive use of land that might otherwise lie dormant, while avoiding construction in more pristine areas. The Danville solar system consists of over 6,600 solar modules and is connected to the Ameren utility grid. The completed project is expected to generate over 3,600,000 kWh of electricity and offset over 1,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. These figures are equivalent to powering 350 Illinois homes and removing approximately 480 cars from the road.

Brightfields is a new initiative launched by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in August 1999, aimed at using former industrial sites contaminated with toxic waste for producing pollution-free solar energy. This novel concept addresses three of the nation's greatest challenges: climate change, urban revitalization, and toxic waste cleanup

Cost

$ 3.5 million

Funding Sources

Ameresco Inc., which is based in Framingham, Mass., purchased the 80.4-acre Danville property from RACER Trust in November 2020, investing $3.5 million to develop a generation facility that supplies enough solar energy to power roughly 2,000 homes for a year.

Project Delivery / Contract Method

100% Private Funding

Private Partner

Inovateus Solar and Ameresco

Project Advisors / Consultants

N/A

Lenders

N/A

Duration / Status

The Danville solar project began construction in November of 2020 and reached completion in May of 2022

Financial Status

Financial close in November 2020

Innovations
  • In addition to the positive environmental impact of the solar power this project produces, it will also provide tax revenue to the Danville area.
  • Turns a serious problem into a tremendous opportunity by siting solar on closed landfills. Decreasing public health risks, repairing damage to the natural environment, and create more than 100 new jobs.
  • Winner of a 2022 RACER's Edge Award, in recognition of its successful redevelopment and reuse of a former industrial landfill in Danville, Ill., as a 2.6-MW solar generation facility. The award recognizes redevelopment excellence at a former RACER property.
  • First City to Use Brightfields Approach.
  • The City of Chicago, working with DOE and Commonwealth Edison, developed an extensive plan that uses the brightfields approach to advance its economic development, climate change, air quality, and electricity reliability goals.
  • Contributes to Illinois' Future Energy Jobs Act, which requires that 2,700 MW of solar to be installed in Illinois by 2030 and that 2% of those projects come from brownfield sites, like closed landfills
Related Links / Articles

Ameresco Completes "Brightfield" Solar Project on Former Brownfield Site in Illinois

Ameresco, Inc

Racer Trust Honors Ameresco, Inc., For Solar Reuse of Former Industrial Landfill in Danville, IL.

Clinton White House Brightfields Initiative

RACER Trust Website

Contacts

Jeff Denovan
Senior Vice President of Construction at Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company
Nabcep.Denovan@greenbackergroup.com

Leila Dillon
Senior Vice President - Corporate Marketing and Communications at Ameresco Inc.
Tel: (508) 661-2264
news@ameresco.com

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