TerraForm Power Operating LLC has agreed to acquire the 1.56 GWdc (1.2 GWac) Steward Creek solar project in Illinois from Hexagon Energy. The deal expands TerraForm’s pre-construction solar and storage pipeline to nearly 7 GW, with concentration in PJM and SERC.

The key development is not the project’s size, but its executed 600 MW interconnection agreement with PJM Interconnection and Commonwealth Edison. In a congested PJM queue, interconnection is now the primary gating factor for value and executability.

Steward Creek is a two-phase, utility-scale project spanning 9,000 acres in Lee County. Phase 1 targets construction in 2027 with COD in 2029, followed by Phase 2 reaching COD in 2030, with optional 150 MW BESS co-location. Each phase is sized at 600 MWac, reinforcing grid-scale relevance rather than merchant optionality.

This transaction signals how large IPPs are underwriting development risk in 2026–2030 vintages. Capital is flowing toward assets where grid certainty is secured early, even if construction remains years out. Size alone is insufficient without queue progress.

For the PJM market, the takeaway is clear. Projects with signed interconnection agreements are becoming strategic inventory. Everything else is optionality.

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