ComEd pilot aims to explore scalability of solar and energy storage solutions to support a more resilient power grid

ComEd, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), today celebrated the commissioning of a new battery-energy storage system in Rockford. This battery system is a critical component of ComEd’s ongoing $6.5 million solar and battery energy storage project, funded in part through the DOE Enabling Extreme Real-Time Grid Integration of Solar Energy (ENERGISE) program. The pilot project pairs this new battery energy storage system with an existing customer-owned solar deployment, located at Rockford’s Prairie Street Brewing Company, and will enable ComEd’s research into distributed energy resource management systems that will support the efficient use of solar power generation and grid resiliency.

“Building on our nation-leading reliability and resiliency, ComEd continues to invest in modernizing and strengthening the grid our customers rely on,” said Gil C. Quiniones, President and CEO of ComEd. “Exploratory pilot projects like this one are crucial to ensuring the grid is fully prepared to support large-scale solar and battery energy storage solutions that are key to the clean energy future in northern Illinois.”

The test pilot, funded by $3.2 million in DOE grant funding and $3.3 million from ComEd and other project partners, will explore the benefits of distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS) to support the integration of private solar panel deployments to grid-connected battery energy storage systems. The results will provide critical data to support the scalability of similar generation deployments throughout northern Illinois to encourage expanded solar generation and support a more resilient and adaptive power grid.

The solar panels, owned by the Koch family and located at local Rockford brewery Prairie Street Brewing Company, provide additional power generation for the brewery. Through this is a single-location battery test pilot, ComEd deployed a battery energy storage solution half a mile from the brewery to store power generated from the panels and better connect that energy with the community’s grid. This project is also directly supporting the brewery by maximizing the potential of their solar energy generation.

A provided statement by the Koch Family said, “Prairie Street Brewing Company and the Koch Family are excited at the opportunity to partner with ComEd on this solar and energy storage project. We installed our solar panels in 2020 and have seen great benefits for our power usage. We hope that this project helps encourage other northern Illinois businesses to explore their own solar installations which can benefit their bottom line while simultaneously supporting their communities.”

The pilot will test various renewable smoothing techniques to help ensure the power output of the solar generation is available throughout the day, and not just when the sun is shining. Data gathered from this deployment will influence future solar panel and battery energy storage solutions. Expanding and scaling these solutions will support the goals of the state’s Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which calls for the expansion of solar and other renewables to meet a goal of 100 percent clean energy by 2050.

“The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act set Illinois on the path to a 100 percent carbon-free economy. Expanding battery storage technology is a key tool for spurring local job growth and meeting Illinois’ energy transition targets by helping to make the most out of solar generation,” said Illinois Commerce Commission Chairman Doug Scott.

Funding for this project was awarded in 2021 by the Solar Energy Technologies Office of the DOE. The Rockford battery deployment is one of 12 projects occurring throughout the country through the ENERGISE program to explore solar and battery storage solutions. Battery commissioning is taking place in December 2024 and testing of the battery system and solar panels will run through January 2025.

“The City of Rockford is honored to be home to this solar and battery storage project,” said Thomas P. McNamara, Mayor of Rockford. “We are seeing solar deployments grow in Rockford and the surrounding county, and we are excited to collaborate with ComEd to maximize the power of solar deployments in our community to further support our clean energy future.”

Solar generation continues to grow in Illinois, and to date, ComEd has interconnected more than 1 gigawatt of distributed energy resource (DER) capacity on the grid, including 57,780 residential rooftop solar systems, 1,582 commercial solar systems and 150 community solar projects. Developing additional battery storage capabilities is a critical component to help customers realize the full benefit of added solar generation in Illinois.

These new investments build on a longstanding collaboration between ComEd and Rockford, including advancements made as part of the Community of the Future (CoF) program, aimed at developing advanced energy technologies to enhance sustainability and resiliency across Rockford and the region. As a Community of the Future, Rockford has emerged as a clean energy hub, recently being named the beneficiary of a $50 million DOE grant to advance grid reliability and resiliency. Additionally, Rockford has attracted numerous solar developments, including a ComEd Give-A-Ray solar subscription program and launched various STEM and workforce training programs to help residents prepare for a growing number of clean energy careers, with programming based at ComEd’s state of the art Rockford Training Center.

ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC), a Fortune 200 energy company serving more than 10.5 million electricity and natural gas customers – the largest number of customers in the U.S. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population. For more information visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.

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