A solar farm built on an old coal mine in Illinois switched on in Woodford County
A solar farm built on an old coal mine in Illinois switched on June 17, 2026, on land that once held the Colchester Coal Seam in Woodford County. Nexamp and TurningPoint Energy commissioned 2 community solar projects there, together generating 9.8 megawatts of direct current capacity, enough for more than 650 subscribers to draw a bill credit instead of paying full price to their utility. TurningPoint Energy developed the site. Nexamp built it and now owns and operates it.
The 2 projects carry 16,950 solar panels across about 40 acres of the former mine site, according to the joint announcement Nexamp and TurningPoint Energy issued together. The seam beneath that land was mined for about 75 years, starting in the 1870s, before the coal ran out.
More than 650 subscribers share the credit, no rooftop panels required
A community solar subscriber does not put panels on a roof. Instead a subscriber signs up for a share of a solar farm output, at no upfront cost and no credit check, and Nexamp applies a discount to the bill credit each subscriber gets for that share, according to Nexamp own description of how the program works. In Illinois, that discount is 15%, the same top rate Nexamp lists for Maine and New Jersey, above the 10% to 12.5% range it lists for other states. In 1 worked example Nexamp gives for a 110 dollar credit, a subscriber still pays 10 dollars to the utility after the credit is applied, then pays a further 85 to 90 dollars to Nexamp for that discounted credit.
About 450 of the more than 650 subscribers are residential customers, and about 200 are low income households. 2 institutional subscribers, Rush University Medical Center and College of DuPage, together account for 40% of the 2 projects combined electricity output.
Community solar is preventative medicine—it reduces harmful emissions, improves the air quality in vulnerable communities, and moves us closer to the healthier, more sustainable future our patients deserve.
Ian Hughes, director of environmental sustainability at Rush University Medical Center, an institutional subscriber to the project. Source 2.
The state program behind the project, and how far Illinois still has to go
The project operates inside Illinois Shines, the state name for the Adjustable Block Program, run by the Illinois Power Agency and administered through a contractor, Energy Solutions. The program pays qualified solar projects, including community solar, by having Illinois utilities buy renewable energy credits from them, which is how a project like this 1 gets funded without depending only on subscriber bill credits. State law sets the clean electricity targets behind that program, 40% renewable electricity by 2030, 50% by 2040, and 100% clean electricity by 2050.
These are statewide targets set in Illinois law, not the output of the Minonk project alone.
Show the numbers
| By 2030 | 40 |
| By 2040 | 50 |
| By 2050 | 100 |
Standing on this former coal site today and seeing it continue its role in powering our communities is a powerful symbol of Illinois' energy future.
Chris Balkema, Illinois state senator. Source 2.
5 projects permitted in Minonk, only 2 built so far
TurningPoint Energy has already permitted 5 total community solar projects in Minonk. These 2 are the first built. The other 3 are planned but still need local grid upgrades before they can go forward, TurningPoint Energy director of development Jordan Belknap told The Cool Down.
The 3 planned projects still need local grid upgrades before they can be built, according to TurningPoint Energy.
Show the numbers
| Already built | 2 |
| Still planned | 3 |
| Total permitted | 5 |
By transforming a former coal site into a long-term clean energy resource, we are demonstrating how smart policy, private investment, and experienced development partners can work together.
Salar Naini, president of TurningPoint Energy. Source 2.
Nexamp chief executive officer Zaid Ashai said the 2 projects turn a former coal mine into community solar that helps hundreds of subscribers cut their energy costs now while building longer term energy security, according to the joint announcement.