One of the nation’s largest solar farms that stretches across portions of Sangamon and Morgan Counties is having its power generation purchased by Google.
Swift Current Energy, owner of the Double Black Diamond Solar project, announced today that the tech giant had made a tax equity investment in the 800 megawatt solar farm.
Once operational, Double Black Diamond Solar is expected to be the largest solar project east of the Mississippi River. The tax equity financing utilizes Energy Communities and domestic content adders, provided in the Inflation Reduction Act. Located 30 miles west of Springfield on the Sangamon-Morgan County line, the Project is currently under construction and is expected to reach commercial operations by early next year.
Swift Current previously announced that Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Societe Generale, Truist and ING provided construction financing for the Project, with NAB, SMBC, Lloyds, NatWest, Siemens, BayernLB and BBVA as additional lenders in the construction financing. Swift Current is the project developer and will be the long-term owner and operator.
At peak construction, the Project employed approximately 530 construction workers. Swift Current selected McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. as the engineering, procurement, and construction partner. The Project utilizes First Solar modules, a majority of which are being manufactured in the US, as well as solar trackers from U.S.-based Nextracker. he Project, capable of powering 100,000 homes annually, is expected to reduce regional carbon dioxide emissions by approximately one million tons per year, according to a press release from the company.
Constellation NewEnergy, Inc. will purchase a portion of the energy and RECs generated by Double Black Diamond Solar to serve the seven customers that have been announced. The City of Chicago will source renewable energy produced by the Project to power several energy-intensive facilities, including Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport. Additionally, Cook County government, CVS Health, Loyola University of Chicago, PPG, State Farm, and TransUnion have agreements to purchase power from the Project via Constellation.