(HOUSTON and GALESBURG, IL) Hundreds of households and businesses across Knox County will soon gain access to affordable renewable power as ENGIE North America (ENGIE) brings two new community solar farms online. The clean energy generated by these facilities will be made available to the state’s electric grid. Local residents and businesses subscribe to the solar farms through Ampion, a community solar subscription management company that will oversee subscriber enrollment and customer service.
The Knox 2A and Knox 2B projects, located in Galesburg, Illinois, will generate clean energy, cut carbon emissions and provide meaningful bill savings to local subscribers. Together, the two projects will produce more than 8.2 million kilowatt-hours annually, avoiding over 7,800 tons of carbon dioxide emissions – the same as taking 1,655 cars off the road for a year.
A community solar farm is a privately owned business established to capture energy from the sun and convert it into electricity that flows into the utility grid. Residents and businesses can subscribe to a share of the farm’s output and, in turn, receive credits on their monthly electricity bills that reduce costs. ENGIE owns and operates the Knox solar farms, while Ampion provides subscription management by enrolling new participants and supporting them as customers.
“Community solar is about more than clean power. It’s about ensuring that households – including those with the greatest need – share in the benefits of the shift to clean energy,” said Kristen Fornes, Head of Distributed Solar and Storage for ENGIE. “These projects in Knox County show how renewable energy can strengthen communities, reduce costs and create a healthier future for families.”
More than 60% of the subscriptions are reserved for low-to-moderate income households, who will qualify through existing federal and state programs such as LIHEAP, Medicaid, SNAP, and TANF. These households – along with other local subscribers – will receive 20% savings on the value of solar bill credits applied to their monthly electricity bills.
“Ampion is proud to work with ENGIE to help low-to-moderate income families in Illinois access the cost-saving benefits of community solar,” said Nate Owen, CEO & Founder of Ampion. “With the majority of the benefits reserved for households enrolled in programs like LIHEAP, Medicaid, and SNAP, these solar farms will deliver much-needed electricity savings. We look forward to working with ENGIE throughout the course of these projects, while ensuring subscribers receive real cost savings on their utility bills.”
In total, the Knox solar gardens will benefit 443 households and businesses, delivering economic relief and advancing Illinois’ goals for clean and equitable energy access.
###
About ENGIE North America
Based in Houston, Texas, ENGIE North America Inc. is a regional hub of ENGIE, a major player in the energy transition, whose purpose is to accelerate the transition towards a carbon-neutral economy. With 98,000 employees in 30 countries, the Group covers the entire energy value chain, from production to infrastructures and sales. ENGIE combines complementary activities: renewable electricity and green gas production, flexibility assets (notably batteries), gas and electricity transmission and distribution networks, local energy infrastructures (heating and cooling networks) and the supply of energy to local authorities and businesses. Every year, ENGIE invests more than $10 billion to drive forward the energy transition and achieve its net zero carbon goal by 2045. ENGIE (ENGI), is listed on the Paris and Brussels Stock Exchanges. For more information on ENGIE in North America, please visit our website at www.engie-na.com or our LinkedIn page at www.linkedin.com/company/engie-north-america-inc.
About Ampion
Ampion provides turnkey subscription and revenue management solutions for renewable energy developers nationwide, simplifying the complex world of distributed generation. From prospect to payment, we maximize investor returns in a holistic way, optimizing revenue with a customer management platform purpose-built for community distributed generation. We’re industry veterans with the people, platform, and processes required to help developers and asset owners get the most out of their portfolios. Our clients choose us because we make their projects more predictable and more profitable, with better data insights, happier subscribers, and less risk. Learn more at ampion.net.
Media Contacts
ENGIE North America
Michael Clingan, External Relations
Michael.clingan@external.engie.com
Ampion: Technica Communications
Melanie Morris
ampion@technica.inc
