Nautilus Solar Energy For Community Solar Project In Illinois
Nautilus Solar Energy (Nautilus) held a ribbon-cutting for its 7 MW community solar project in Hampshire, Illinois. Known as the Highway 20 Community Solar Farm, this facility will provide affordable, clean energy to around 600 low-income subscribers, as well as to the Glenview Park District and CSL Behring.
This new community solar site created local jobs in the Hampshire area across construction, engineering, and electrical work, and is comprised of over 12,000 solar panels installed across 26 acres (11 ha) of land. Nautilus officially opened the facility today, which will generate an estimated 10.7 million kWhs annually and help avoid over 9921 tons (9000 tonnes) of greenhouse gas emissions.
“Nautilus recently relocated our headquarters to Chicago, and the opening of the Highway 20 Community Solar Farm is another example of our commitment to Illinois and helping to meet the state’s clean energy goals,” said Jeffrey Cheng, chief executive officer of Nautilus. “In fact, Illinois is poised to become Nautilus’s fastest growing market, with this project marking the early beginnings of our 200+ MW multi-year investment across the state.”
“Illinois, and the mid-west in general, is in the strategic path for Nautilus’s community solar business expansion,” said Bruce Heyman, chief executive officer of Power Sustainable and former Ambassador to Canada. Power Sustainable provides the equity capital for Nautilus’s projects. “Overall, we’re pleased that Nautilus has steadily grown to over 500 MW of operational capacity across 153 projects in 12 states, serving more than 45,000 community solar subscribers. We are proud to support Nautilus and its continued growth.”
Over the next year, Nautilus expects to add over 100 MW of additional capacity in Illinois with development continuing on additional projects well into 2027 and beyond. According to Nautilus, these investments will lower energy costs for thousands of Illinois subscribers while supporting the state’s renewable energy goals, stimulating local economies, and strengthening overall grid resilience.
