Power Supply Portfolio

Solar & Wind Resources

Solar Farms

PPI constructed two 500 kW solar electric production facilities in the Spoon River Electric Cooperative and Shelby Electric Cooperative territories in 2015. The solar farms are owned by PPI subsidiaries PPS-Spoon River, LLC and Prairie Power Solar, LLC, respectively. The solar farms together produce enough electricity to supply 1,500 families every day. The Spoon River Solar Farm is located between Havana and Astoria and includes a unique learning center. The Shelby Solar Farm is located east of the Lake Shelbyville Dam.

Solar Farm Power Purchase Agreement

PPI purchases 24 MW of solar-generated electricity through a Power Purchase Agreement with the Big River Solar Farm, a 149 MW facility in White County, Illinois. PPI will own the renewable energy credits (RECs) associated with its 24 MWs during the final 5 years of its contract. All the energy produced by the Big River Solar Farm is purchased by Illinois non-profit organizations, including 124 MW from Illinois electric cooperatives, demonstrating the important role electric cooperatives have in enabling new renewable generating resources built in Illinois.  The solar farm began commercial operations in 2022.

The solar arrays span 1,000 acres of leased land and will provide over $15 million in new property tax income for White County over the life of the project.

Wind Farm Power Purchase Agreement                                                

PPI purchases 20 MW of wind energy and RECs through a Power Purchase Agreement with Pioneer Trail Wind Farm, LLC (PTWF).  PPI resells some of the RECs and does not claim the renewable attributes for resold RECs within our own supply portfolio.  The wind farm consists of 94 GE 1.6 MW turbines located in Ford and Iroquois counties in east central Illinois and can generate as much as 150.5 MW.  The wind farm began commercial operations in 2012.

The site encompasses more than 12,000 acres of land, with the turbines occupying approximately 2-3% of this land mass. Local benefits include an estimated $29 million in local tax revenues, $8 million in local salaries, and over $50 million in landowner leases over the project’s expected 25-45 year life cycle. The wind farm provides clean, emissions-free energy to approximately 45,000 households.

Peaking Generation

Alsey Generation Facilities

Owned and operated by PPI, the Alsey Generation Station consists of six natural gas-fired, peaking generators located in Scott County, IL. The facility entered service in June 1999 with five units. PPI added the sixth unit at this site in 2017, a simple-cycle 45 MW GE LM6000 PC Sprint. The Alsey site has an aggregate capacity rating of 169 MW.

Pearl Combustion Turbine

During times of peak electricity demand and system emergencies, PPI can call on a 21 MW oil-fired combustion turbine based at the Pearl Generation Station in Pike County, IL.

Base Load Generation

Prairie State 1,600 MW Generation Station

In July 2007, the PPI Board of Directors committed to becoming an 8.22% owner-participant (135 MW) of the Prairie State Energy Campus (PSEC) in Washington County, IL. PSEC is a technologically-advanced electric generation facility, consisting of two generating units capable of aggregately producing approximately 1,600 MW. The plant serves consumer-owned electric cooperative and municipal utilities across five states. It uses state-of-the-art environmental emissions control equipment technologies, making it among the top 10 cleanest coal-fueled power plants in the United States. PSEC emissions are less than half the average of regulated emission rates when compared to all U.S. coal plants. The supercritical high-efficiency design of the plant results in CO₂ emission rates lower than typical coal plants across the country. Mercury emissions meet Illinois environmental regulations, one of the strictest requirements in the nation. Advanced scrubbing systems provide one of the highest sulfur dioxide (SO₂) removal rates of any permitted plant. Annual nitrogen oxide (NO_x) and SO₂ emission rates are less than one-third the average annual emission rates for U.S. electric power generation facilities. Approximately 98% of SO₂, 99% of fine particulates, and 80% of NO_x are removed. Being a mine-mouth facility provides an added benefit of eliminating nearly 200,000 tons of CO₂ emissions per year. Both PSEC units became commercially operational in 2012.

Learn the facts about PSEC:16