Factor This Finance And Development Roundup: Aes, Alliant…

We’re back, baby!

You may have noticed I’ve been mostly absent from these parts over the past few months. Don’t worry, I was close by- instead of clacking on a keyboard in my office, I was spending a few dozen sleepless nights learning how to be a first-time father. Now that that’s out of the way (it’s all smooth sailing from the 16-week mark, right?), I’m back in the saddle on Factor This to bring you a fresh edition of our (once again) weekly roundup of clean energy finance and project developments.

Oh, Friday roundup, a lovestruck cowboy once confessed, I wish I knew how to quit you.

It’s nice to see there’s still no shortage of stories to choose from. Money is being lent, steel is being put in the ground, and the clean energy transition (whether you want to think of it that or not) is still very much happening in the United States. It might even accelerate, now that the Supreme Court has ruled President Trump’s tariffs unconstitutional. If you’d to learn more about how the domestic solar supply chain, in particular, is better off without the levies lobbed on “Liberation Day,” head here.

Here are some of the big headlines that caught my eye in my first full week removed from parental leave. If you see something worth shouting out in this digest, drop me a line. In the meantime, let Eddy Vedder mumble you into the weekend. When it finds you, may its embrace be nothing short of the warmth of a blanket fresh out of the dryer.

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AES Brings Indiana Solar+Storage Site Online

AES Indiana, a subsidiary of AES Corporation, recently announced that the Petersburg Energy Center, a major energy project in Pike County, is officially in service. The state-of-the-art facility features 250 megawatts (MW) of solar generation from more than 515,000 solar panels, enough to power more than 100,000 homes. It also includes 180 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy storage, filling a critical gap identified in AES Indiana’s 2022 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). As part of the IRP, this project was identified as essential to replacing retired Petersburg Units 1 and 2 and meeting the Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s (MISO) increased seasonal capacity requirements.

“This project helps AES Indiana maintain its commitment [to] reliability today and tomorrow for our customers in Central Indiana and our commitment to be a driving economic force in Pike County,” surveyed Brandi Davis-Handy, president of AES Indiana.

AES Indiana has committed $1.1 billion in investments in the Pike County community from 2024 through this year. Last year, AES brought the Pike County Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) online, capable of storing and delivering up to 200 MW of electricity for four hours.

The Petersburg Energy Center will help sustain local jobs and support the community that has helped power Central Indiana for close to 60 years. The facility’s location qualifies as an Energy Community, increasing the tax credit from 26% to 40%, which encourages continued investments in Pike County.

Whoa, BESS-ie! Alliant Puts Reliability First with Two Big Batteries

Alliant Energy is soaking up some sunshine and saving it for later at two new facilities in the Midwest. The Wood County BESS in Saratoga, Wisconsin, and the Wever BESS in Lee County, Iowa, are now each storing electricity generated by adjacent solar fields. Both projects are critical components of the company’s energy blueprint, a roadmap for meeting the growing energy needs in those states.

“We are proud to serve every customer with genuine care and to help build communities that shine with strength, connection, and possibility,” said Dave Herkert, AVP of strategic projects at Alliant Energy. “As we bring new projects these online, we’re expanding our capacity to deliver reliable energy when our communities need it most.” 

The Wood County BESS (pictured at the top of this article) is located on land adjacent to Alliant Energy’s 150 MW solar field. The battery portion of the site stores 75 MW of electricity and can power the equivalent of 80,000 homes for up to four hours. The new Wood County BESS facility increases Alliant’s planned and operational energy storage in Wisconsin to 275 MW. Located in Southeast Iowa, the 100 MW Wever BESS is also on land adjacent to a 150 MW solar farm. The storage system will be able to power the equivalent of 100,000 homes for up to four hours. The Wever BESS, combined with three other planned projects, will bring planned battery storage capacity in Iowa to approximately 400 MW. Both battery systems are monitored 24/7, allowing operators to act immediately to any changes in performance. Alliant Energy also worked with local fire departments to ensure readiness in the event of an incident at either site.

Alliant contracted with hardware-agnostic energy management systems provider FlexGen to design battery components and a portion of the systems at both the Wood County and Wever battery sites. FlexGen recently announced the latest version of its HybridOS software, built to maximize site performance, increase participation in grid services, and simplify the operator experience.

“As grid conditions grow more dynamic, battery storage gives companies Alliant Energy the confidence to deliver energy as promised while integrating renewable generation, strengthening grid resiliency, and meeting long-term load growth,” stated Jason Rislov, SVP of operations at FlexGen. “Our mission is to equip utilities and the communities they serve with energy solutions to harness, store, and distribute the energy that is vital to the core of our daily lives and economies.”

FlexGen also recently published its 2026 outlook.

CleanChoice Energy Tripling Generation Capacity with Acquisitions in North Carolina

‘Farm-to-table’ clean energy company CleanChoice Energy announced this week that it will extend its energy generation footprint into North Carolina with the acquisition of two solar projects located in Halifax and Bertie counties. The projects will generate 222.2 MWdc of clean electricity combined, enough to power about 130,000 homes each year.

CleanChoice calls the projects critical components of its generation portfolio, as the company expands its business into the Southeast with its largest projects to date, tripling its generation capacity to 331.99 MW. Currently, the company operates a solar project in Franklin County, Pennsylvania (below) that is interconnected to the PJM electric grid and is constructing additional projects in Kylertown, PA; Washington County, New York; and Rensselaer County, NY.

“The Sumac and Sweetleaf projects represent a pivotal step in our evolution into a fully integrated clean energy company that builds, owns, and delivers renewable power directly to customers,” said Zoë Gamble, president of CleanChoice. “As electricity demand accelerates nationwide, we’re investing in high-capacity solar infrastructure that strengthens grid reliability, expands domestic energy supply, and gives more households access to locally sourced, pollution-free power.

Construction on the Sumac and Sweetleaf projects, formerly owned by utility-scale developer Geenex, is expected to begin in early 2027, with interconnection targeted for 2028. Upon completion, the Sumac Project will generate 103.92 MWdc, and the Sweetleaf Project will generate 118.3 MWdc. Both will connect to the PJM grid and embrace the practice of “ecovoltaics” by incorporating features that support the local ecosystem into their design and construction. These practices include wildlife-friendly fencing, no tree clearing or impacts to existing timber/forests, implementing sediment and erosion control measures to protect wetlands, streams, or jurisdictional waters, and collaboration with third-party environmental consultants to avoid impacting land that is home to protected habitats or species.

CMBLU Signs Mega Deal with Multinational German Energy Company

Bulk energy storage disruptor CMBlu Energy is celebrating the signing of a conditional supply agreement that could prove the viability of its technology. Last month, the German battery company established a long-term framework for the delivery of at least 5 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of its Organic SolidFlow battery storage systems. The agreement runs until 2037 and provides Uniper Kraftwerke GmbH with the option, starting in 2027, to call off battery systems in tranches of at least 100 MWh each.

The signing s a key technological milestone in the long-standing collaboration between the two companies: the successful completion of the Site Acceptance Test (SAT) of a battery system, which confirms the suitability of the technology both for grid services and for future large-scale deployment that is beneficial to both the grid and the market in the multi-hour storage segment.

“This agreement with Uniper represents an important milestone for CMBlu and for the industrial scaling of our SolidFlow technology. The successful Site Acceptance Test confirms the technical maturity of our solution for use in the energy system,” confirmed Constantin Eis, CEO of CMBlu Energy.

According to CMBlu, the framework agreement establishes a reliable basis for the continued expansion of stationary long-duration energy storage in Germany and Europe, defining a development pathway for the potential deployment of at least 5 GWh of storage capacity across multiple project phases. In addition to the supply agreements, the parties intend to conclude long-term service and maintenance agreements to ensure the reliable, high-performance operation of the storage systems throughout their service life.

CMBlu’s SolidFlow battery is based on a unique, patented combination of organic redox flow technology and solid-state storage materials, and is specifically designed for market-oriented applications in the multi-hour range. The technology offers the potential for high cycle stability, a service life of several decades, non-flammable electrolytes, and avoids the use of critical raw materials such as lithium, cobalt, or nickel. Per the company, that makes SolidFlow a sustainable, safe, and scalable alternative to conventional battery storage systems, particularly for applications requiring high utilization rates and long-term operation.

Encore Starts Construction on Community Solar in Illinois

Back stateside, Encore Renewable Energy is putting shovels in the ground, announcing that construction is underway at six solar arrays providing almost 30 megawatts (MW) of community solar in Illinois. These projects are the first of Encore’s pipeline of over 60 MW of solar and energy storage in the Land of Lincoln currently under development. The six arrays in the Brighton and Johnson Lake solar portfolios will support ratepayers through Illinois’s community solar program once construction wraps up later this year. 

Blake Sturcke, CEO of Encore Renewable Energy, called the work on the Brighton and Johnson Lake solar portfolios a critical milestone in Encore’s strategic expansion into the Midwest energy markets.

“By leveraging Illinois’ supportive legislative and regulatory frameworks, we are converting a robust development pipeline into high-performing clean energy assets which directly benefit the communities in which they operate,” Sturcke asserted. “These projects demonstrate our ability to deploy capital efficiently while delivering predictable, long-term value to both our investors and the local communities we serve.”

Illinois’ robust community solar program has made it a national leader and allows interested households to “subscribe” to a portion of the power from projects those in the Brighton and Johnson Lake portfolios. In exchange, households receive a discount on their monthly electricity bills. Illinois recently passed the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act, which increased the maximum size for community solar projects from 5 MW to 10 MW, along with other energy reliability and affordability measures.

The portfolio was initially developed by one of Encore’s development partners, GreenKey Solar, and will be owned and operated by Encore.

“We’re excited to see years of development work come together as Encore breaks ground on the Brighton and Johnson Lake community solar projects,” said Hunter Strader, President of GreenKey Solar. “We place a strong emphasis on honoring our landowner relationships by providing long-term passive income and taking land stewardship seriously. We’re intentional about working with reliable, long-term asset owners who those values and who we trust to do the right thing over the life of a project.”

The sites have been carefully planned to maximize benefit to landowners and subscribers, but also to the local agricultural community; Encore worked with local soil conservation groups to ensure all parties’ long-term goals are accounted for. Each project has an accompanying Agricultural Impact Mitigation Agreement designed to preserve soil integrity and thus long-term agricultural viability. The land will continue to support local agriculture even as the projects operate through an agrivoltaics partnership with Agrivoltaic Solutions, which will tap into local grazers to manage sheep on site to control vegetation underneath the panels, improving soil quality in the process. The projects will be grazed for the entire life of the solar arrays, then returned to productive crop agriculture.

All six are located within the Ameren Illinois service area, and the utility certainly supports new distributed generation coming online.

“Ameren Illinois is proud to support the growth of distributed energy resources across our service territory,” said Andy Parker, director of the clean energy transition for Ameren Illinois. “Operating a safe and reliable grid for our customers is our core responsibility, and we are committed to integrating clean, customer‑driven energy solutions to support the clean energy transition.  By working collaboratively with DER developers and communities, we’re enhancing the electric grid, ensuring it can meet changing customer needs and deliver long‑term value for customers throughout downstate Illinois.”