MOLINE, ILLINOIS (July 29, 2025) — Cultivate Power, a solar development company, and Generate Capital, a sustainable investment and operating company, are proud to announce the successful completion of the Goldenrod Solar Project in Mercer County. The five-megawatt, 38-acre solar array is projected to deliver $5.8 million in community benefits over the next 15 years. Goldenrod Solar is proud to have been selected as an Illinois Shines Community-Driven Community Solar (CDCS) project for bringing significant direct, tangible benefits to its local community.
“This new solar project highlights our commitment to local communities,” said Brian Matthay, managing director, Cultivate Power. “The Goldenrod Solar Project is an excellent example of how Cultivate Power’s solar projects empower local residents and community partners.”
Goldenrod marks the arrival of a new community solar project offering 850 local solar subscribers up to $3.6 million in lower energy costs through 10-20% in electricity bill savings. Subscribers live in Mercer County and the surrounding counties of Rock Island, Henry, Knox, Warren and Henderson, and have joined the project at no cost. Goldenrod supports low- and moderate-income households, who make up 55% of overall project subscribers. Solstice, a leading community solar provider, is handling enrollment for the Goldenrod Solar Project. To learn more about subscribing to Goldenrod or another Illinois community solar project, visit Solstice’s website.
“Goldenrod is about more than resilient energy — it’s about investing in people and places,” said Peggy Flannery, managing director, Generate Capital. “From workforce training and scholarships to savings on electricity bills and support for local institutions, this project demonstrates how infrastructure can deliver real, lasting value to the communities in which they operate. We’re honored to be part of something that strengthens Mercer County for the long term.”
As part of their shared commitment to strengthening local communities, Cultivate Power and Generate Capital have committed $600,000 in scholarships, grants and contributions to local Mercer County organizations over the next 12 years. Beneficiaries include Black Hawk College Foundation, Greene Township Fire Protection District, Sherrard High School and Mercer County High School Future Farmers of America chapters, Living Lands & Waters, and Mercer County Better Together.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Cultivate and Generate to establish the Goldenrod Solar Scholarship,” said Zenaida Landeros, executive director, Black Hawk College Foundation. “Their contributions over the next 12 years will not only create annual scholarships for Mercer County students but will also establish a healthy endowment at both the Quad Cities and East campuses for the scholarship to continue on indefinitely.”
Other community benefits include property tax payments estimated to exceed $360,000 in the first 15 years of the project life, benefitting Sherrard CUSD 200, Greene Fire Protection District and the Viola Public Library District among others, as well as 101 individuals who were employed in the construction of the project, and $1.5 million over six years to the Evolve Foundation (formerly known as Renewing Sovereignty Project) to deliver solar construction workforce training and wraparound services for formerly incarcerated and other system-impacted individuals. The foundation has already graduated 50 students funded by the Goldenrod project from three-month intensive training programs and helped place 40 of them into solar industry jobs.
The Goldenrod Solar Project is located on a 38-acre portion of a 250-acre property owned by Bob and Annette Essary, who live on the property in a home they built 26 years ago. Bob and his partner will continue to farm the 60 remaining tillable acres on the property and will cultivate hay around the fence of the solar project. The Essary family assisted in planning the solar project, and participated in county and township meetings during the project planning phase.
“We decided to move forward with the solar lease because we saw a need to diversify the value of our land,” said Bob and Annette. “Now we have stable, long-term income from solar rent with our remaining acres available for corn, soybeans and hay. We are thinking about what we are leaving behind for our grandkids and future generations. Plus, we’re alumni of Black Hawk College ourselves, so we are grateful to Cultivate and Generate for giving back to the college and other local organizations.”
Goldenrod was developed by Cultivate Power and is owned and operated by Generate Capital. A portion of the community solar project is made possible through the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) passed by the Illinois State Legislature in 2021. The CEJA supports clean energy industry job training and business growth, and seeks to help Illinois communities impacted by environmental damage.
About Generate Capital
Generate Capital is a leading sustainable investment and operating platform. Generate provides the capital and expertise that developers, businesses, cities and communities need to accelerate cost savings, resilience and decarbonization. Since 2014, Generate has invested in and operated sustainable assets across six sectors: power, mobility, waste, green digital, water and agriculture, and industrial decarbonization. With more than $10 billion raised since inception, 50+ technology and development partnerships and over 2,000 assets globally, Generate’s one-stop-shop offers proof, not promises, that sustainability pays. For more information, please visit generatecapital.com.
About Cultivate Power
Cultivate Power is a distributed solar and storage project developer committed to strengthening communities, the grid and climate stability. The company is uniquely focused on developing 10- to 50-acre solar and storage projects on farmland and infill. Cultivate is a leading developer of community solar projects in Illinois. Cultivate Power’s team operates with the belief that climate challenges can be better addressed by prioritizing the local benefits of distributed clean power. For more information, please visit cultivate-power.com.
Media Contacts
Aisling O’Toole
Generate Capital
(646) 531-5650
[email protected]
Kate Lohnes
Lilja Communications for Cultivate Power
(952) 893-7140
[email protected]
