Inside an Earthrise peaker plant, a key to connecting Will County solar farms to the grid

Earthrise CEO Jeff Hunter stands outside at the idle Lincoln Generating Facility, a peaker power plant run by Earthrise, April 6, 2026, in south suburban Manhattan. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

The Lincoln Generating Facility, a peaker power plant run by Earthrise, sits idle as it does most days, April 6, 2026, in south suburban Manhattan. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Plant manager Brad Keaton stands next to an idle turbine at the Lincoln Generating Facility, a peaker power plant run by Earthrise, April 6, 2026, in south suburban Manhattan. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Power lines run by a farm just outside the Lincoln Generating Facility, a peaker power plant run by Earthrise, on April 6, 2026, in south suburban Manhattan. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

A natural gas pipeline is marked near power lines for a ComEd facility just outside the Lincoln Generating Facility, a peaker power plant run by Earthrise, April 6, 2026, in south suburban Manhattan. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Plant manager Brad Keaton talks in the control room at the Lincoln Generating Facility, a peaker power plant run by Earthrise, on April 6, 2026, in south suburban Manhattan. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)