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St. Charles utility liaison updates council on IMEA IRP requirement, smart-thermostat pilot and 150-MW D. E. Hollow solar project
Summary
Peter updated the Committee on IMEA board business, noting a new IMEA CEO, state IRP requirements under CEJA that IMEA will perform for member municipalities, a voluntary smart-thermostat distributed energy pilot, and progress on a 150-MW D. E. Hollow solar project expected to start sending power this November.
Peter, the city's IMEA liaison, briefed the Committee on key developments from the IMEA Board of Directors meeting: the board welcomed new CEO Doug Brown; rating agencies reaffirmed IMEA's high and stable scores; and IMEA is pursuing a joint integrated resource plan (IRP) that member municipalities may adopt to meet state CEJA (Clean and Equitable Jobs Act) requirements.
Peter explained the legal and practical role of an IRP under CEJA: municipalities or joint-action agencies must complete an IRP every five years. IMEA plans to issue an RFP for an IRP consultant in June and aims to approve a final consultant contract in August, with preliminary IRP completion required by January 1, 2028, and later finalization. He emphasized an IRP does not itself create binding obligations but will include least-cost scenarios to meet statutory renewable and carbon-free supply goals (40% renewables by 2030; 100% of projected load via carbon-free resources in combination with storage/demand by 2045).
Councilmembers asked about Naperville's status (Peter said Naperville remains in the same position) and about a distributed energy resource management plan and a voluntary smart-thermostat program. Peter said the smart-thermostat pilot targets residential users, IMEA will fund incentives, participation will be voluntary, AMI integration and direct utility-to-thermostat control are years away, and residents will be able to set data-sharing preferences.
Peter also reported the IMEA 150-MW D. E. Hollow solar project is on schedule: panel installation has begun, substations will be installed in summer, and IMEA expects to send power to the grid in November; he said the facility is estimated to produce enough electricity to power 44,123 homes.
Peter told the council that IMEA updates will be recurring reports and staff will post IRP-related notices on the city website as the joint IRP work proceeds.
