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A new surplus interconnection strategy helped Earthrise avoid years of grid connection delays for its Illinois solar farm.
A new large-scale solar project in Illinois has started operating using an existing power plant connection, helping it skip the long wait for a new grid hookup. The 270 MWac Archtop Solar Project began commercial operations on June 9 and is the first to use Earthrise Energy’s surplus interconnection strategy.
The independent power producer, based in Arlington, Virginia, connected the solar project using the transmission lines at its Gibson City natural gas peaking plant. This method lets the company launch the project without waiting in the usual grid interconnection line, which often takes years for renewable energy projects.
The Archtop Solar Project includes Gibson City Solar 1 and Gibson City Solar 2. Earthrise believes this strategy could accelerate the addition of new clean energy, especially as electricity demand grows across the United States.
Instead of building new transmission lines and getting a separate grid connection, the solar facility uses the same interconnection as the nearby natural gas peaker plant.
During sunny periods, the solar installation sends electricity to the grid. If solar production drops, especially when demand is high, the gas plant can quickly boost its output to keep the power supply steady.
The firm says sharing infrastructure makes better use of existing transmission lines and helps cut down on delays that often slow renewable energy projects.
Earthrise CEO Jeff Hunter said the project demonstrates a practical way to expand electricity generation by leveraging existing infrastructure.
“Illinois needs additional energy resources now, and this project demonstrates that innovative use of existing infrastructure can accelerate deployment timelines while supporting Governor Pritzker’s vision for a clean and reliable energy future. We believe this approach has the potential to serve as a blueprint for future development across the region.”
One of the biggest challenges for renewable energy developers is getting approval to connect new projects to the power grid. Many proposed wind and solar farms are stuck in regional interconnection lines, which delays construction and operation.
Earthrise avoided this problem by using the Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s surplus interconnection process. This lets new facilities use extra transmission capacity already assigned to existing power plants, instead of asking for a completely new connection.
By using unused capacity at the Gibson City peaking plant, the company was able to get the solar project up and running much faster than under the usual approval process.
According to Earthrise, the project has operated as planned since it began.
“The early operating results reflect the type of coordination this model was designed to enable: solar generation when available, and peaker generation when other outputs decline and peak demand increases,” Halleran said.
Scott Halleran, the company’s vice president of asset management, said the early performance shows that the shared operating model is working as planned.
Earthrise now plans to use this idea in more places across Illinois. The company is working on about 1.5 GW of new solar capacity with the same surplus interconnection strategy. Planned projects include Northwest Solar and Glacier Moraine Solar in Cumberland and Coles counties, Plum Valley Solar and Pride of the Prairie Solar in Will County, and Tilton Solar in Vermilion County.
A versatile writer, Sujita has worked with Mashable Middle East and News Daily 24. When she isn't writing, you can find her glued to the latest web series and movies.
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