USS Beard Solar
Solar power plant · Cass County, Illinois
Nameplate capacity
3.5 MW
Rank in Illinois
#268
of 580 plants
In service since
2026
January 2026
Details
- Primary fuel
- Solar
- Technology
- Solar Photovoltaic
- Operator
- USS Beard Solar LLC
- County
- Cass County
- Generating units
- 1
- Share of state capacity
- 0.01%
- Rank among solar plants in Illinois
- #94 of 383
- EIA plant code
- 68757
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USBRD | Solar Photovoltaic | 3.5 MW | 3.5 MW | 2026 | Operating |
Nameplate is the maximum rated output; summer capacity is what the unit can reliably deliver on a hot day, which is typically lower.
Similarly sized plants in Illinois
| Chicago West Side Energy Center | Natural gas | 3.5 MW |
| Mars Snackfood US | Natural gas | 3.5 MW |
| Beecher Gas Recovery | Other | 3.3 MW |
| 2065 George St Community Solar | Solar | 3.2 MW |
About this data
From EIA’s inventory of operable generators, May 2026 release. Capacity is nameplate — the maximum rated output of the equipment, not what the plant actually generates over a year, which depends on how often it runs. A 3.5 MW solar plant and a 3.5 MW nuclear plant have the same entry here and produce very different amounts of electricity.
“In service since” is the earliest in-service date among the units still listed, so a site rebuilt around newer equipment can read as younger than the site itself. All Illinois power plants · What Illinois actually generates