ComEd announces interconnection of more than 1 gigawatt of DER to its grid

ComEd, which serves Illinois, has interconnected more than 1 gigawatt of distributed energy resources (DER) capacity to its grid, including 57,780 residential rooftop solar systems.

Overall, the more than 59,000 DER on the ComEd smart grid includes 1,582 commercial systems, 118 community solar farms, 23 industrial, and two utility scale projects. This has helped place Illinois first among Midwestern states based on DER and second for total capacity, according to the Solar Energy Industry Association.

“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,” Scott Vogt, vice president of Strategy and Energy Policy at ComEd, said. “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.”

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.

“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,” Brian Granahan, director of the Illinois Power Agency, said. “Everyone benefits from solar energy, so it’s important to work together in support of achieving our state’s renewable energy goals.”

ComEd has supported 114 percent annual growth in DER for residential customers and 25 percent annual growth for C&I customers over the past five years. Also, community solar has grown more than 4,000 percent since the first project was placed into service in the ComEd service territory in 2019.

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. By 2025, ComEd expects that DER capacity will increase to over 1,900 MW, and by 2023, it will rise to more than 3,600 MW by 2030. This would be enough energy to power approximately 120,000 homes for one year.

Further, by the end of this year, ComEd expects to have more than 150 community solar projects interconnected to its distribution system serving a total of about 40,000 customers.

Rebate programs are also available to commercial and residential renewable energy facilities. The rebate is valued at up to $300 per kilowatt for an eligible distributed generation facility, such as rooftop solar, and up to $300 per kilowatt-hour for an associated energy storage device.

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