ComEd, Solar Landscape and Public Storage Announce 60 New Rooftop Solar Sites Planned for Northern Illinois

Key Terms

community solar technical

Community solar is a shared solar power system that allows multiple people or businesses to benefit from a single solar installation, often located off their property. Participants typically buy or lease a portion of the solar energy generated, which helps reduce their electricity bills and supports renewable energy efforts. For investors, community solar represents an opportunity to support sustainable projects while earning stable returns from a growing clean energy market.

distributed energy resources technical

Small, local sources and devices that generate, store or manage electricity near where it’s used—examples include rooftop solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles, smart thermostats and backup generators. They matter to investors because they reshape how power is produced, sold and paid for: they can lower costs, create new revenue streams, change regulation and require grid upgrades, so they affect company profits, risk profiles and growth opportunities much like dozens of small engines changing how a single factory runs.

reit financial

A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, operates, or finances income-producing real estate, like shopping centers, apartments, or office buildings. For investors, REITs offer a way to invest in real estate without having to buy property directly, often providing regular income through dividends. They function like a mutual fund for real estate, making it easier for people to add property investments to their portfolio.

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New community solar sites to add 44 MW to the grid and increasing affordable energy access for 6,150 households

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ComEd yesterday joined Solar Landscape and Public Storage to announce plans to develop 60 rooftop community solar projects —with 10 already livened—across northern Illinois in the next two years, marking one of the largest community solar installations in Illinois. Together, the projects will deliver 44 Megawatts (MW) of community solar energy, boosting grid capacity and creating opportunities for customers to lower their energy costs.

ComEd has one of the largest community solar portfolios in the country and anticipates having over 400 sites completed by the end of 2026. To date, more than 1.8 GW of DERs have been connected, making Illinois the leading midwestern state for DER capacity.

"With demand for power rising faster than supply, community solar sites like this one offer a clean energy solution that can help close the supply gap and offer bill savings for customers,” said ComEd President and CEO Gil Quiniones. “By year end, we expect to have some 400 community solar installations across ComEd’s northern Illinois territory, making this region a national leader in developing a renewable resource that has a key role to play in delivering clean, affordable power over the long term.”

Once completed, the projects are expected to generate enough electricity each year to power approximately 6,150 households while delivering an estimated $750,000 in annual electricity bill savings for subscribers, more than $36 million over the life of the projects. The average residential subscriber is expected to save approximately $120 annually on electricity costs.

The partnership is transforming underutilized rooftop space into community solar projects, demonstrating that the growth of community solar in the region is being driven by innovative partnerships across utility, developer and real estate partners. Solar Landscape is the largest commercial rooftop solar developer in the nation and works with Public Storage, the leading self-storage operator in the US, to convert underutilized storage facility rooftops into energy-producing assets that deliver affordable electricity savings to households. The Illinois portfolio covers approximately five million square feet of rooftop space.

“Commercial rooftops represent one of the fastest, most scalable opportunities to expand the electric grid using infrastructure that already exists," said Shaun Keegan, CEO of Solar Landscape. "By partnering with ComEd and Public Storage, we're transforming underutilized real estate into energy infrastructure that lowers electricity costs for Illinois families while helping meet the region's growing demand for power. This portfolio demonstrates how utilities, property owners and private capital can work together to deploy clean energy at meaningful scale.”

“Our facilities play an integral role in the communities we serve, and we are committed to extending the lasting benefits of our footprint through consumer affordability and green energy,” said Nathan Vitan, Chief Legal Officer and executive sponsor for sustainability at Public Storage. “Public Storage maintains the largest solar energy program in our industry, expected to expand to 1,300 of our properties by the end of 2026. We're proud to partner with ComEd and Solar Landscape to demonstrate how commercial properties can deliver maximum value as community assets.”

As Illinois experiences increasing electricity demand driven by economic growth, electrification and new technologies, ComEd is upgrading the grid to accommodate the rapid expansion of distributed energy resources. These investments enable more renewable energy projects to come online, strengthen grid reliability and help deliver affordable energy options to customers across northern Illinois.

“Garfield Park Community Council is proud to partner with Solar Landscape to expand access to the benefits of Community-Driven Community Solar for our community,” said Aretha Berdell, Garfield Park Community Council’s sustainable housing associate. “We’re especially excited that our own office is enrolled in this rooftop community solar project, allowing us to reinvest annual energy savings into serving our community, and we look forward to continuing this impactful partnership.”

The expansion of new community solar sites is supported by Illinois' clean energy policies, including the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) and the Clean and Renewable Grid Affordability (CRGA) Act.

“This project represents economic development and investment here in Justice and creates economic opportunities for job, growth, investment and sustainability,” said Mayor Krzysztof Wasowicz of Justice.

The projects will also create local jobs and expand career opportunities. Construction is expected to support approximately 300 jobs, while workforce partners, including STEP-UP Solar, the Chicago Urban League, the Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (HACIA), YouthBuild Lake County and other Illinois YouthBuild programs, are preparing Illinois residents for careers in the growing clean energy industry. Since 2024, STEP-UP Solar and its partners have trained 139 individuals for careers in the solar industry. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers will also play a key role in building the skilled local workforce needed to deliver these projects and support Illinois' growing clean energy economy.

"While we're celebrating the completion of this community solar project today, another group of YouthBuild Solar Installer trainees are participating in hands-on solar training through STEP-UP Solar, with support from Solar Landscape. That connection is what makes Illinois' Community-Driven Community Solar Program so impactful. By pairing clean energy development with workforce training, Illinois is helping ensure the benefits of the clean energy economy are shared by the communities that need them most,” said Tameka Wilson, executive director of YouthBuild Lake County.

The subscriptions offered through the solar portfolio are not limited to residents. Several community organizations are subscribed to the project or have helped enroll residents to community solar, including Better Sister Brother Growth Network, Ecker Center, Elgin Green Groups, Garfield Park Community Council, Institute of Cultural Affairs USA and Seven Generations Ahead.

ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC), a Fortune 200 energy company, serving almost 11 million electricity and natural gas customers – the largest number of customers in the U.S. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4.2 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population. For more information visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.

Solar Landscape is the nation’s leading distributed energy infrastructure company, transforming commercial real estate into a source of new power by deploying solar and storage at scale. Partnering with more than 170+ commercial real estate owners and utilities, the company develops, builds, owns, and operates distributed energy projects that deliver new capacity to the grid in as little as 12 months while generating long-term income for commercial and industrial property owners. Recognized by the Financial Times as one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. and ranked the #1 commercial rooftop solar developer by Solar Power World, Solar Landscape combines real estate expertise with proprietary technology and vertically integrated execution to deploy infrastructure with speed and certainty. Headquartered in Asbury Park, New Jersey, with offices in New York City, Chicago, and Baltimore, the company has deployed more than 500 projects representing over 750 MWdc of generation.

Public Storage, a member of the S&P 500, is a REIT that primarily acquires, develops, owns, and operates self-storage facilities. At March 31, 2026, the Company: (i) owned and/or operated 3,546 self-storage facilities located in 40 states with approximately 259 million net rentable square feet in the United States and (ii) owned a 35% common equity interest in Shurgard Self Storage Limited (Euronext Brussels: SHUR), which owned 333 self-storage facilities located in seven Western European countries with approximately 19 million net rentable square feet operated under the Shurgard® brand. Public Storage’s headquarters is located in Frisco, Texas.

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Source: ComEd