Local Solar Installation to Supply CWLP Customers

City Water, Light and Power (CWLP) is set to add 25 megawatts (MW) of solar energy and capacity through a long-term contract with Sangamon Solar LLC. The energy will come from a new 100 MW, 750-acre solar installation planned for construction south of Chatham in Sangamon County. The project is expected to break ground in 2026 and begin operations in 2028, bringing with it a number of local construction and maintenance jobs.

"Adding more solar resources for CWLP is a goal I’ve had since taking office,” said Mayor Misty Buscher. "I like that Springfield can have diverse energy options to serve our citizens and that we have this installation being local to CWLP’s transmission lines, which is great for the city.”

The location of the facility near CWLP transmission lines will allow the solar energy to feed directly into CWLP’s system. This setup helps avoid congestion on the broader electrical grid and will supply about 6.5% of CWLP’s customer energy load.

CWLP Chief Utility Engineer Doug Brown described the 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) as a practical and affordable addition to the utility’s energy portfolio. "Solar is a good fit to our portfolio and securing this contract at a good price is the right thing for our customers by further reducing some of our market purchase exposure to higher costs,” he said. "With this long-term contract, we are also underscoring our commitment to being an affordable, reliable and responsible energy provider to Springfield and that we can be a conduit to renewable energy that is generated locally under our public power, customer-owned operation.”

This new solar project will join other renewable resources in CWLP’s portfolio, including a 15-year wind power agreement with the 185 MW Glacier Sands Wind Power project, a 3-year solar purchase from a 170 MW facility, and a 250 kW solar installation owned and operated by CWLP near the Washington substation.