Press release
ComEd Reaches 1 Gigawatt Milestone for Distributed Solar
More than 59,000 DER interconnected to smart grid, rooftop solar drive growth CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Solar energy is shining brighter than ever in
About this update from Exelon Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"\nMore than 59,000 DER interconnected to smart grid, rooftop solar drive growth\n\n\n CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nSolar energy is shining brighter than ever in northern Illinois as ComEd today announced that it has interconnected more than 1 gigawatt of distributed energy resources (DER) capacity to the ComEd grid, including 57,780 residential rooftop solar systems. The more than 59,000 DER on the ComEd smart grid include 1,582 commercial systems, 118 community solar farms, 23 industrial and two utility scale projects, helping to place Illinois first among Midwestern states based on DER and second for total capacity, according to the Solar Energy Industry Association.\n\n\n“Achieving the 1-gigawatt milestone for DER reflects progress with the adoption of distributed energy resources and our commitment to helping residential, commercial and industrial customers take full advantage of the benefits of solar energy,” said Scott Vogt, vice president of Strategy and Energy Policy at ComEd. “With available state and federal incentives, this is a great time to go solar, and we are here to help customers every step of the way.”\n\n\n“For ComEd to reach 1 gigawatt of distributed energy resources on its system illustrates the positive impact that our equitable energy policies are making in Illinois, and the importance of transparency and open communication between utilities and the developer community and strong customer education,” said Brian Granahan, director of the Illinois Power Agency. “Everyone benefits from solar energy, so it’s important to work together in support of achieving our state’s renewable energy goals.”\n\n\nOver the past five years, ComEd has supported 114% annual growth in DER for residential customers and 25% annual growth for C&I customers. Community solar has grown more than 4,000% since the first project was placed into service in the ComEd service territory in 2019. A gigawatt is equal to 1,000 megawatts (MW), or 1 billion watts, which is equivalent to about 3.12 million photovoltaic panels, 431 utility scale wind turbines and 100 million LED light bulbs.\n\n\nThrough May of this year, ComEd has received a record volume of 8,273 new interconnection applications and completed 5,073 systems totaling 95.76 MW of capacity, demonstrating the positive impact of climate legislation in Illinois and growing consumer inter...