18 Months
Timeline
5 MW
Capacity
$5.8 M
in community benefits and 850 homes and businesses powered

The Challenge

In a rural farming community like Mercer County, solar savings are out of reach for renters and low- and moderate-income families who are unable to install their own panels. Landowners, meanwhile, face pressure to keep every acre productive. Community solar answers both, extending savings to local subscribers, while giving a working farm stable new income alongside its crops.

The Solution

Generate Capital and Cultivate Power developed a five-megawatt solar array on Mercer County farmland. Selected as an Illinois Shines Community-Driven Community Solar project, Goldenrod gives 850 local subscribers 10 to 20 percent savings on their electricity bills at no cost to join.

Operational Excellence

Generate Capital structured Goldenrod to deliver value beyond electricity, committing $600,000 over twelve years to local scholarships, grants, and organizations. The project also keeps its host site a working farm, with the landowners continuing to raise corn, soybeans, and hay on the surrounding acres.

The Impact
Up to $3.6 million in lower energy costs for 850 local subscribers through 10 to 20 percent electricity bill savings, with low- and moderate-income households making up 55 percent of subscribers.
$600,000 in scholarships, grants and contributions to Mercer County organizations over twelve years, including Black Hawk College Foundation, Sherrard High School and Mercer County High School FFA chapters, Living Lands & Waters, and Mercer County Better Together.
$1.5 million over six years to the Evolve Foundation for solar workforce training and wraparound services for formerly incarcerated and system-impacted individuals, which has already graduated 50 people and placed 40 in solar industry jobs.
More than $360,000 in property tax payments over the first fifteen years benefiting local districts, plus 101 individuals employed during construction.