ComEd substation upgrade to add 2.45 GW of renewables in Illinois
ComEd has announced an expansion of its 765 kV Wilton Center substation, which will enable the largest cluster of renewable projects interconnected to the Illinois grid to date.
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USA, Chicago: ComEd has announced an expansion of its 765 kV Wilton Center substation, which will enable the largest cluster of renewable projects interconnected to the Illinois grid to date.
The expansion is expected to be complete and proposed wind farms are expected to be operational in late 2026. The substation, constructed in 1968 and located near Joliet, IL, supports transmission lines of 765 kV, used for long-distance power transmission. The substation yard is approximately 1 million square feet and will be expanded by about 50 percent. Design engineering began in September, and work will include installation of new circuit breakers, transformers, relay switches, network data and control systems.
The expansion will support five wind farms and two solar farms with the capacity to produce a total of up to 2,450 MW of renewable energy for the transmission system and the PJM energy market, which includes all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia. The wind and solar farms to be supported by the expanded Wilton Center substation include Heritage Prairie, a wind farm with up to 850 MW of generation capacity in western Kankakee County and northeastern Livingston County, with the project also including 300 MW of solar generation; two wind farms developed by Panther Grove Wind Energy, each producing 400 MW of wind energy, one each in Livingston County and Woodford County; Lower Crossing Wind Farm in Kankakee County, which will produce 200 MW of wind; and Osagrove Flats Wind Farm in LaSalle County, a 150 MW project that will also include 150 MW of solar.
The largest wind farm in Illinois is the 396 MW Twin Groves Wind Farm in McLean County. ComEd has 13 active wind projects underway in either construction or study phase, representing 3,120 MW of potential wind generation.
Source: ComEd
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