Omaha energy company’s plan to build $450 million storage facility could attract other businesses to Quincy

QUINCY — A $450 million energy storage facility to be built in Quincy will create an estimated 75 construction jobs for two years, but Kyle Moore, president and CEO of the Great River Economic Development Foundation, says he’s more excited about the types of businesses that Quincy will attract once it’s complete.

“Often in economic development, you can’t say what the next step is,” Moore said during a Thursday morning press conference at Quincy City Hall. “But I can tell you what this project does is it allows us to go out to those data centers. As companies look at our community, they often ask about the power capacity of your region, and you have an answer in the affirmative that you can provide the energy levels that meet their needs. 

“While there might necessarily not be a bird in hand today, I can tell you that as we start recruiting more businesses, this is going to be an important part of the conversation.”

A press conference at Quincy City Hall on Thursday morning provided an opportunity for Omaha, Neb.-based Tenaska, a private independent energy company, to explain its plans for the facility, which will be built on a 10.65-acre property on the north side of Koch’s Lane and a 34.99-acre property on the south side — both near 42^nd Street.

The Phoebe Energy Project calls for a 300-megawatt battery energy storage system, which would be the largest in Illinois. The project would be built in two 150-megawatt energy phases, with construction to begin during the second half of 2025. Excess power from the electric grid will be stored during low-peak overnight hours and delivered during high-peak hours. 

The project will have enough electric capacity to power 200,000 homes. It also could reduce local power costs and help prevent brownouts — drops in the magnitude of voltage in an electrical power system.

“We saw there was a growing need for capacity resources like this, not just throughout the U.S. but in particular in the Midwest, just based on supply and demand dynamics,” said Jarrod Pitts, senior director of development at Tenaska. “As we further looked at a site, we identified the substation that’s located just outside of Quincy as having available capacity for a project like this. Then you combine that with the fact that we were able to acquire an industrially zoned site adjacent to the substations. 

“All of those factors have come together to make this a great location for a project like this.”

Chuck Bevelheimer, director of planning and development for the city, said the facility will be built in the Quincy and Adams County Enterprise Zone. Property taxes on the development will be abated for 10 years.

“That was part of the lure that brought (Tenaska) to this site,” he said.

The property is zoned M3, which means the proposal must first be approved by the Plan Commission (which meets July 23) before it goes to the Quincy City Council for a vote.

“Quincy is experiencing significant economic development, and this battery storage project will further bolster this growth,” Pitts said.

The project will operate for 20 years and be staffed by a team of three or four technicians.

“(After 20 years) we would anticipate that two things could happen,” Pitts said. “We could look to potentially repower and extend the life of the project. The other scenario would be that the project is no longer planning to operate. At that point, we would decommission the project and essentially restore the site to its pre-construction conditions. That’s something we’re committed to doing if there is not an opportunity to continue operating the project beyond 20 years.”

Quincy Mayor Mike Troup said Illinois has “between five and seven” battery storage facilities, with the largest one at 35 megawatts of power.

Pitts said Tenaska, founded in 1987, is developing more than 10,000 megawatts of projects across the United States, with the average project at about 200 megawatts. The company is ranked 12^th on Forbes’ list in November 2023 of America’s largest private companies, generating $25.1 billion. Tenaska has 751 employees, according to Forbes, and the top 11 companies all have a minimum of 15,000 employees.

Moore said the process to bring Tenaska to Quincy has taken between 14 and 16 months.

“This project means added energy security for people in west-central Illinois, not only to prevent the possibility of brownouts but also to keep energy prices at bay,” he said. “There’s going to be great construction jobs, head-of-household jobs, for a two-year period. Seventy-five good paying jobs. As we start seeing the completion of ($300 million worth of construction at) the Illinois Veterans Home, it’s important to keep those individuals employed.

“We’re going to have continued economic development. I always say everybody in every town wants their property taxes to stay flat or to reduce, but it’s never going to be any cheaper to pave the street to hire a fireman or policeman. To keep property taxes in line and not increasing, you need economic development. This property is going to go a long way to provide significant economic benefits for the area.”

Spencer Smith, vice president for the Laborers International Union of North America 231 based in Pekin, was pleased to hear about the project.

“It’s a lot for Quincy, especially in this area, a rural area where we’ve typically had to fight for everything that we get,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for many young kids coming out of high school to get career jobs in construction. It’s unbelievable to me. There are several things coming into this area that were expected years ago that are actually happening.”