Dairyland Announces Acquisition of Natural Gas Assets in Illinois

To support the Cooperative's focus on sustainability and reliability for its members while transitioning to a lower carbon future, Dairyland Power Cooperative is announcing the purchase of existing natural gas-fired assets in Illinois.

Dairyland purchased Elgin Energy Center in Elgin, Ill., and the Rocky Road facility in East Dundee, Ill., from Avenue Capital Group, a global investment firm. The Elgin and Rocky Road power plants have been operated by Middle River Power on behalf of Avenue.

"These strategic investments are essential to position Dairyland to meet the growing resource adequacy and reliability needs of rural communities," said Brent Ridge, Dairyland President and CEO. "As we continue to develop a balanced, diversified energy portfolio to support increased demand across our service territory, these facilities will play a critical role in providing the flexible, dependable energy our members rely on every day."

In January 2025, Dairyland announced the expansion of its footprint in Illinois with the signing of a wholesale power supply contract with Norris Electric Cooperative in Newton, Ill., effective June 2026. Dairyland currently serves JCE Co-op, a Dairyland member-owner headquartered in Elizabeth, Ill. As a member-owned Generation & Transmission cooperative, Dairyland provides its members and power supply customers with safe, reliable and cost-effective electricity services to meet the needs of the rural communities they serve.

As part of its commitment to a low-carbon future, Dairyland has retired nearly 600 MW of coal generation since 2014 and has been awarded a $595 million New Empowering Rural America (New ERA) federal grant. Through the grant, Dairyland is securing power purchase agreements for approximately 1,000 MW of wind and solar projects in the Midwest, while investing in critical transmission upgrades that support grid reliability and resiliency.

To support the ongoing capacity needs of the Cooperative and its members, Dairyland continues to explore additional transactions to best position its resource portfolio for current and future demand.