Solar Farm Ceremony Marks Milestone for Loyola University Chicago’s Clean Energy Commitment

CONTACT
Gabrielle Abbott
Media@LUC.edu

CHICAGO—On April 30, Loyola University Chicago students, faculty, and staff will celebrate Earth Month by participating in the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Double Black Diamond Solar Farm in central Illinois. The clean, renewable electricity Loyola purchases from the facility helped the University become one of only 15 carbon-neutral universities in the nation.

The Double Black Diamond Solar Farm is located in Sangamon and Morgan Counties, 30 miles west of Springfield, Illinois. Renewable energy developer Swift Current Energy owns and operates the project, which became operational in late 2024. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will recognize the facility’s status as the largest utility-scale solar project east of the Mississippi River. It can produce enough electricity to power 100,000 households.

Along with the City of Chicago, Loyola was among the first organizations to sign on to buy power from Double Black Diamond. In 2023, the University signed an agreement with Constellation to purchase power from the new solar project, and the contract started on January 1, 2025. Loyola agreed to purchase 81,660 megawatt hours of electricity in the first year of production, enough to completely power the University’s Lake Shore, Water Tower, and Health Sciences campuses.

Loyola, Constellation, and Swift Current also agreed to establish and integrate academic opportunities for students, including visits to the central Illinois project, and speaker presentations from clean energy experts. 

“As the only educational institution signing on to the Double Black Diamond project, Loyola viewed this commitment as much more than powering our campuses,” Loyola President Mark C. Reed said. “This partnership demonstrates to our students that environmental sustainability is not only a core value or subject of academic study at Loyola but also an opportunity to develop practical, technological innovations like this solar farm to contribute to the long-term solution.”

This project helped Loyola meet the goals of A Just Future, the University’s Climate Action Plan, which included achieving carbon neutrality by 2025. This innovative energy-sourcing approach follows other significant commitments to sustainability by the University, including over $150 million invested in high-performing buildings and campus energy systems, the inclusion of sustainability in the core curriculum, the launch of the School of Environmental Sustainability in 2020, and a new Campus Plan committed to decarbonization for all campus energy.

In addition to participating in the ribbon cutting, Loyola students, faculty, and staff are celebrating Earth Day and the University’s sustainability achievements with campus activities throughout April. Highlights include student presentations on environmental research during the Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium, Excellence Awards that recognize student sustainability leaders, and the annual (b)Earth Day Party showcasing student clubs and community partners. When the academic year ends at the beginning of May, the green move-out program, Think Green and Give, will collect donations from residence halls for 15 partners and charities.

Loyola is a Gold-rated higher education institution for sustainability through the AASHE Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS). For more information on this project, please contact Loyola’s Office of Sustainability at sustainability@LUC.edu or learn more about Loyola’s commitment to sustainability.

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About Loyola University Chicago
Founded in 1870, Loyola University Chicago is one of the nation’s largest Jesuit, Catholic universities, recognized for its academic excellence, commitment to community engagement, and leadership in sustainability. A Carnegie R1 research institution, Loyola leverages its status as one of an elite group of universities with the highest level of research activity to advance knowledge that serves communities and creates global impact. With 15 schools, colleges, and institutes—including Business, Law, Medicine, Nursing, and Health Sciences—Loyola operates three primary campuses in the greater Chicago area and one in Rome, Italy, that provide students a transformative, globally connected learning experience. Consistently ranked among the nation’s top universities by U.S. News & World Report, Loyola is a STARS Gold-rated institution that is ranked as one of the country’s most sustainable campuses by The Princeton Review and has earned distinctions from AmeriCorps and the Carnegie Foundation for its longstanding record of service and community engagement. Guided by its Jesuit mission and commitment to caring for the whole person, Loyola educates ethical leaders who think critically, act with purpose, and strive to create a more just and sustainable world.

Header image courtesy of Swift Current Energy. Aerial view of the Double Black Diamond Solar Farm in central Illinois.