Solar Energy

Ameren Illinois employees toured Illinois State University's new College of Engineering campus Wednesday while delivering a ceremonial check supporting its electrical engineering lab.

A clean audit of the McLean County Mental Health and Public Safety Fund won't wipe away all the disagreements over how the county spends sales tax money shared by Bloomington and Normal.

After a pause, wind farm development could take a step forward in McLean County, according to County Board Chair Elizabeth Johnston. A battery energy storage system attached to a wind farm is moving ahead in McLean County.

The ISU Solar Car Team will debut its Mercury 8 car this summer. From a combination of mechanical and electrical work, the car will compete in a 1,500-mile race known as the American Solar Challenge.

A bill to make solar power more accessible to renters and others who face barriers to the alternative energy source stalled in the Illinois Senate, but it’s likely to return in the fall veto session because lawmakers like the idea of helping residents with their electric bills.

There has been one permit pulled for the installation of a BESS, at Rivian. It encompasses less than an acre, according to the town planning and zoning department, and would not be visible from a public street.

The massive tax and spending law signed in July halts a federal incentive for residential solar, and homeowners and installers are hurrying to complete projects before the end of the year. Industry experts say there are other ways to cut costs like "group buys."

Unit 5 heard a first reading of its policy regarding law enforcement requests for student citizenship status information at Wednesday's meeting.

Temperatures remained into the 80s well in the fall this year in parts of the Midwest. Agrivoltaics offers a respite to extreme heat and land access for new farmers.

The Normal Town Council also approved a solar addition at Heartland Community College, updates to park signage and heard updates on the town's strategic plan.