Vistra plotting solar and energy storage at coal sites following Illinois climate act

By Andy Colthorpe
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Vistra’s large-scale battery storage project at Moss Landing, California, which repurposed a natural gas plant site. Image: Vistra Energy.

US utility Vistra Energy has welcomed this week’s passing of clean energy policies in the US state of Illinois, stating that they will support 300MW of solar PV and 150MW of battery energy storage it intends to build in the state.

Last week Illinois’ Senate passed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which commits the state to deriving 50% of its power from renewables sources by 2040 and 100% of by 2045.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

State governor J.B. Pritzker has said the act is to be passed into lawed as soon as possible, with Vistra looking to build solar and energy storage facilities at nine of its existing coal plant sites.

In a state which like much of the rest of the Midwest US has long been heavily dependent on coal, the act includes provisions to help retrain coal industry workers and support communities to justly transition to the coming clean energy economy. Coal plants in the state must be retired by 2030. 

It also included a Coal to Solar and Storage Initiative, which will make US$280.5 million available to energy storage projects installed at retiring coal plant sites. Vistra Energy, which operates coal plants around Illinois had previously advocated for such a plan, reiterating this call in April as it announced that economic conditions had brought forwards a planned plant closure from 2025 to 2022

More on this story can be read on sister publication Energy-Storage.news.

Read Next

February 6, 2025
Samsung C&T Renewable Energy Australia has submitted a 250MW solar-plus-BESS site in New South Wales to the Australian government’s EPBC Act.
February 4, 2025
Growing hybridisation and co-location of renewable power projects and storage facilities could strengthen revenue in Europe’s power sector.
February 3, 2025
The company announced last week that the Desert Quartzite project in Riverside County, California, began operations in December 2024.
January 30, 2025
Renewable energy developer Acen Australia is seeking Federal government approval for a 320MW solar-plus-storage site in New South Wales, Australia, under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
January 28, 2025
NextEra Energy Resources subsidiary Florida Power and Light commissioned 2.2GW of new solar capacity in 2024.
January 28, 2025
TotalEnergies has submitted its 320MW Middlebrook solar-plus-storage project in New South Wales, Australia, to the government’s EPBC Act.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
February 17, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
February 19, 2025
Tokyo, Japan
Solar Media Events
March 11, 2025
Frankfurt, Germany