Illinois American Water to Decrease Energy Costs through new Solar Fields in Champaign and Peoria

Energy costs expected to decrease by $200,000 annually

BELLEVILLE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Illinois American Water is working with Sol Systems to develop two solar fields. The energy-saving photovoltaic (PV) fields will be located on Illinois American Water property in Champaign at 560 CR 1700 N and in Peoria at 6111 N Galena Road. The PV fields, which convert light to usable energy, will be the largest of their kind within American Water’s footprint, nationwide.

According to Brent O’Neill, Director of Engineering for Illinois American Water, both systems will be rated at 2,000 kW and, combined, will help the company save over $200,000 in annual energy costs. In addition, an anticipated 20 jobs will be created during construction. Sol Systems will partner with local union contractors to complete the work.

O’Neill said, “This is a really exciting project because of its multi-faceted impact to the communities we serve. Not only are we supporting local jobs and reducing operational costs which benefits our customers, but we are also reducing our environmental footprint.”

To further illustrate the environmental impact, O’Neill explained, “Using EPA’s Green Power Equivalency we’ve determined the solar fields will offset greenhouse gas emissions of 16,222 cars or 8,462,000 gallons of gasoline over 15 years of operation. That’s a significant impact.”

O’Neill added that solar energy is not new to Illinois American Water. Solar panels attached to an operations building in the Peoria District help to keep equipment batteries charged in inclement weather. Solar is also used at the company’s Corporate office and Metro East operations in southern Illinois.

Sol Systems will access Ameren Illinois and Illinois Power Agency energy rebates to help reduce the overall cost of the project. Construction on the solar PV fields should be completed by April 2021.

About Illinois American Water - Illinois American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to approximately 1.3 million people. American Water also operates a customer service center in Alton and a quality control and research laboratory in Belleville. With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 6,800 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to 15 million people in 46 states. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customers to make sure we keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com and follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Illinois American Water ranked #1 in Customer Satisfaction
with Large Water Utilities in the Midwest according to the J.D. Power
2020 Water Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study
For J.D. Power 2020 award information, visit jdpower.com/awards