Ameresco, Inc. announced the completion of a 26.3 megawatt (MW DC) 20 MW AC, solar farm in DePue, Illinois. With its completion, the solar farm becomes the largest of its kind in Bureau County and will significantly advance the state?s goal of reaching 25% renewable energy by 2025. The DePue solar farm consists of 65,832 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels strategically installed on ballast blocks entirely above ground and is estimated to produce 37,000 megawatt hours of green, emission-free energy in its first year of operation.

Ameresco has served as the developer, builder and owner of the solar farm on the brownfield site and began development plans in October 2019. With the completion of the project, the Village will benefit from a portion of the energy generated for facility usage, resulting in significant annual energy cost savings throughout the life span of the installation, in addition to permitting fees collected throughout the site?s development process. Bureau County will also collect increased property tax revenue from the project completion.