The 346-megawatt Gibson City Solar Project, developed by Earthrise Energy and constructed by Burns & McDonnell, achieved commercial operation in Illinois through Earthrise Energy's surplus interconnection strategy. By connecting to an existing substation linked to adjacent gas peaking facilities, the project leveraged existing grid capacity instead of requiring new interconnections, demonstrating a method to accelerate renewable energy deployment while maintaining grid reliability.

As utilities and renewable energy developers across the U.S. face increasing delays in connecting new power generation facilities to the grid, this project demonstrates a method to achieve faster renewable energy integration by leveraging existing assets. In addition to innovative grid interconnection strategies, Burns & McDonnell incorporates advanced construction techniques and terrain-following solar trackers to minimize environmental impact and enhance project execution efficiency.

"Interconnection has become one of the decisive challenges facing new energy projects," said Jami Stone, construction project manager at Burns & McDonnell. "Projects like Gibson City demonstrate how developers can leverage existing infrastructure while integrating innovative construction methods to deliver new renewable power generation more efficiently. This exemplifies the industry's rethinking of traditional approaches to meet growing energy demands. We commend Earthrise Energy for providing this creative solution to accelerate the deployment of clean power.". ”

The facility covers approximately 1,700 acres, spanning McLennan County and Ford County, and is expected to generate enough clean electricity to power about 46,000 households.

Burns & McDonnell's scope of work included EPC services. AZCO, as Burns & McDonnell's construction subsidiary, was responsible for the self-construction of the underground electrical systems, pile driving, and the installation of trackers and modules. The project team also provided environmental support, built a 34.5/138 kV collector substation housing two substations, and constructed a power transmission line connecting to the new location of the existing Gibson City Energy Center substation. The project was completed by union labor under a national maintenance agreement.

Burns and McDonald's collaborated with Nextpower to provide terrain trackers, Shoals to provide ground collection systems, and SMA to provide inverters for the project. Earthrise has purchased Runergy solar panels, high-voltage circuit breakers, and transformers.

This project aims to serve multiple power purchase agreements. To support this coordinated operation, Burns and McDonald designed and debugged the monitoring and data acquisition (SCADA) system for the project, providing necessary control functions for the safe management of power generation resources.

The Gibson construction site has also become a testing ground for the next generation of building automation technology. Burns and McDonald deployed Gret's AI software and robots, and installed some solar panels on site. Grit combines AI with robotics technology to automate labor-intensive building activities by creating intelligent systems that can be attached to standard building equipment. In Gibson City, Gret machines are responsible for lifting and placing solar panels, reducing the need for repetitive heavy physical labor while improving safety and productivity.

The project also demonstrates how engineering and technology can significantly reduce the impact of construction on the environment. By adopting Nextpower terrain tracker technology, the design follows the natural contours of the site, limiting the leveling work volume within the entire project area to no more than 40000 cubic yards. Compared to traditional utility scale solar construction, this method reduces the need for leveling operations by up to 90%, helping to protect existing landscapes, minimize erosion risks, and reduce the need for replanting. Burns&McDonnell also collaborated with the owner to develop a local seed mixture and started growing it before it was mobilized to the site, thereby enhancing the ornamental value of the final project.