Why This Site

A battery energy storage project needs what any new energy asset needs: land, a connection to the grid, and transmission to move the power. Assembling them from scratch takes years. The Edwards plant site already has the land and the transmission, and an established point of interconnection to build from.
The Edwards Power Plant has occupied this property in Peoria County for decades. The site carries established transmission equipment connecting it to the regional grid.
The Edwards Power Plant retired at the end of 2022 in accordance with a judicial settlement.
Placing new assets on ground like this reuses infrastructure that already exists instead of building it somewhere else from nothing.
The Edwards plant site, Peoria County, Illinois.

What Is Under Consideration

TechnologyStorageUtility-scale battery energy storage.
Capacity under evaluation37MWStorage capacity being evaluated for the site.
CountyPeoriaPeoria County, Illinois.
Project scope changes as development work proceeds, and no decision to construct has been made. Any project at the Edwards site would depend on market conditions, permitting, interconnection and other approvals.

What a Project Here Would Mean

Building a project at the Edwards site would deliver a one-time economic stimulus to Peoria County — capital investment at the site, wages for local trades, and spending through the local supply chain.
The figures below are what that was modeled to produce.
Capital investment$73MModeled investment at the plant site.
During construction88Jobs supported in Peoria County over the construction period.
Local earnings$7.1MEarnings for local workers during construction.
Local economic output$11.7MAdded economic activity in the county during construction.
Economic impact figures were modeled for Vistra by Dr. David G. Loomis, Strategic Economic Research, LLC.

This Has Been Done Four Times in Illinois So Far

Edwards is a proposal. The approach and the company behind it are not.
Baldwin68 MW of solar with energy storage in Randolph County, operating.
Newton52 MW of solar with energy storage in Jasper County, operating.
Coffeen44 MW of solar with energy storage in Montgomery County, operating.
Pulaski405 MW of solar in Pulaski County, completed in 2026 and generating power.
Vistra’s recent investments of more than $1 billion have added 570 MW of generation and 6 MW / 24 MWh of battery storage across Illinois.

Edwards Site at a Glance

Location800 S. Cilco Lane, Bartonville, IL 61607
CountyPeoria County, Illinois
Plant statusRetired 2022 in accordance with a judicial settlement
Identified opportunityUtility-scale battery energy storage
Capacity under evaluation37 MW
InterconnectionExisting plant interconnection and transmission

Questions About the Edwards Site

No. A utility-scale battery energy storage project has been under development for the site, but no decision to construct has been made. Energy projects of this size take years of diligence, engineering, permitting and interconnection work before anyone breaks ground.

Because a retired plant site does not start from zero. New energy assets need land, a connection to the grid and transmission to carry the power away, and assembling those three from scratch can take the better part of a decade. The Edwards plant site has the land and the transmission, and a project there would reuse some of the transmission and interconnection assets already in place. New substation work and, in almost all cases, a new point of interconnection are still required.

Yes, four times. Baldwin, Newton and Coffeen pair utility-scale solar with energy storage on existing plant property and are operating today. Pulaski Solar, a 405 MW facility in southern Illinois, reached commercial operation ahead of schedule.

Modeling for a redevelopment project at the Edwards site estimated 88 jobs supported in Peoria County during construction, $7.1 million in earnings for local workers and $11.7 million in added local economic output.