Rainy Solar completes 1.18-MW rooftop community solar array in Illinois

Rainy Solar, a division of Rainy Investments, commissioned a 1.18-MW rooftop community solar project in Elgin, Illinois.

The Rainy Community Solar project is the state’s first community solar project. The PV array was installed by WCP Solar and completed in 2018. The system sits on top of a 120,000-sq-ft building and is made of 3,713 panels. The ComEd grid-connected system will create an annual estimated generation of 1.3 million kWh.

The Rainy Community Solar project.

The power output for the project is fully subscribed and will supply solar power benefits in the form of renewable energy credits to eight Chicago municipalities including Elgin, Highland Park, Oak Park, Deerfield, Glenview, Glencoe, Lake Forest and Lake Bluff.

“We are proud to have the first built and operated community solar project in the state. Community solar will be a key driver in the new energy economy In Illinois,” said Ken “Bucky Buckman, CEO of Rainy Solar.

Rainy Solar, which owns and operates the project also stated that it could not have realized the full potential of this project without the state of Illinois passing the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) of 2017. Through FEJA, new renewable energy sites in Illinois, including community solar projects will help to create a clean energy economy for the state through job creation, and the reduction of carbon by displacing legacy coal generating units in the state.

The Rainy Solar project is part of the Illinois Power Agency’s Community Solar program and was selected in the Illinois Adjustable Block Program lottery administered by the Illinois Power Agency. Through the agency’s solar program, subscribers receive net metering credits against their monthly ComEd invoices for their prorated share of the energy generated by the project. Subscribers can be commercial and residential customers who are part of the ComEd system.

Rainy Solar will host a dedication event Thursday, October 17 at 11 a.m. in Elgin to celebrate the state’s first community solar project at the company’s solar rooftop installation.