Colorado-based developer Scout Clean Energy has acquired the consented 369MW Blue Sky solar project in Illinois from RES.
Scout said the facility is scheduled to begin commercial operations in 2024. A purchase price was not disclosed.
The project has a finalised and executed Property Tax Abatement Agreement in place with all taxing jurisdictions in Grundy County. It is estimated that the county taxing jurisdictions will receive $36.3 million in tax revenue over the life of the project, including $25.4 million slated to the local school district alone.
Blue Sky received unanimous approval for a special use permit with Grundy County in December 2020, under the established Grundy County Solar Ordinance. RES began land acquisition and interconnection studies on the site in 2018. The project should receive its full interconnection agreement in the third quarter of 2022.
“We are pleased to complete another renewables investment with the team at RES,” said Michael Rucker, CEO and founder of Scout, a portfolio company of Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, a specialist global investment manager focused exclusively on renewables, storage, and grid support infrastructure.
“The Blue Sky project is one of the largest solar projects approved to date in the PJM and is the second Midwest solar project Scout has added to its expanding renewables portfolio this year. Blue Sky is a uniquely located project enabling the supply of significant solar power to the Greater Chicago region.
“Blue Sky further diversifies our fleet across wind, solar and storage. Scout will close out 2021 with over 12,000 MWdc in our development pipeline and more than 1,200 MWdc of renewable projects in operation across the United States.”