ComEd Commissions Two New Substations, Unlocking Up To 550MW of Wind Energy to the Grid

New transmission substations in LaSalle and Woodford Counties expand capacity to enable utility scale wind farms while enhancing reliability for surrounding communities

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ComEd today announced the successful energization of two new 345 kV transmission substations to its grid, enabling the interconnection of up to 550 megawatts (MW) of wind generation in LaSalle and Woodford counties.

With unprecedented demand for electricity across the US and here in Illinois, ComEd customers have seen the impact of higher PJM, the electric transmission grid operator for 65 million people in 13 states and the District of Columbia, including ComEd’s service area, capacity costs driven by a growing supply and demand imbalance, putting upward pressure on customers. To bring long term relief for customers more generation resources will be needed, and ComEd is committed to advancing grid investments that increase capacity and make way for the integration of more renewable energy generation, including from two new wind farms to be built in LaSalle and Woodford counties in the next two years. These substations clear the way for commercial operation of two future wind farms, Osagrove Flats (150 MW) and Panther Grove (400 MW), in late 2026 and early 2027, respectively.

In addition to enhancing reliability for the greater transmission network, ComEd’s newest substations are critical to enabling the interconnection of new utility scale wind farms to the grid, supporting up to 550 MW of new wind generation expected to come online in 2026-2027. This capacity is equivalent to the amount of energy needed to serve approximately 264,000 homes for a year.

“ComEd is committed to delivering the reliable, modern grid Illinois needs to facilitate renewable energy growth, advance the state’s economic development goals and deliver more affordable power for our customers,” said ComEd President and CEO Gil Quiniones. “These two new substations are part of ComEd’s drive to expand transmission capacity, enabling more clean energy resources to come online and ensuring this region has the infrastructure in place to meet our growing energy needs.”

The new infrastructure strengthens ComEd’s transmission network and enables the delivery of low-cost renewable energy into the PJM market through utility-scale wind generation, helping increase supply and improve reliability.

The projects began in 2023 and were completed more than four months ahead of schedule with more than 113,000 hours of ComEd labor, which included the installation of 16 new transmission towers, more than 58 miles of fiber and nearly half a mile of new conductor, with additional future work planned to further enhance system reliability.

To meet the growing forecasted demand for power, ComEd is helping to advance more renewable sources coming onto the system. To date, more than 1.7 GW of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) have been connected, making Illinois the leading midwestern state for DER capacity. To make this happen, in addition to building new infrastructure, ComEd is deploying a multiprong approach to leveraging the existing grid to more efficiently connect renewables to the grid. This includes Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS), a technology platform combining software control systems and hardware, such as IoT gateways, sensors and smart inverters. By dynamically managing grid conditions and unlocking additional hosting capacity, DERMS helps to accelerate deployment of renewable energy projects, including wind and solar, and increase access to affordable clean energy for Illinois customers.

ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC), a Fortune 200 energy company, serving almost 11 million electricity and natural gas customers – the largest number of customers in the U.S. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4.2 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.