A La Fox factory plans a 5 MWh battery on site - ComEd's storage rebate is $300 or $250 a kilowatt-hour, and this project has not been paid it
Richardson Electronics and ComEd said on 12 October 2026 that a 5 MWh demonstration battery is going in at the La Fox, Illinois factory. The release says qualifying storage can get up to $300 per kWh. ComEd's 2026 terms pay $300 to homes and small business, and $250 to larger commercial accounts, and the storage rebate sits with generation. No rebate for this project has been published.
A factory in northern Illinois wants a big battery on its own ground. The rebate poster and the rebate terms are not the same number.
On 12 October 2026 ComEd and Richardson Electronics said the company is installing a 5 MWh demonstration battery at its plant in La Fox. The joint release calls it the largest commercial battery storage system in Illinois. ComEd is supporting the grid link through its interconnection process. The release does not give a kilowatt rating, a solar size, a cost, or a start date.
The Daily Herald, reporting the same day from the plant, says the battery would sit at the rear of the headquarters and is meant as a model for customers. Scott DuBois, the company's director of business development, told the paper the project is still in design. The building size depends on how many 44-ton cabinets go in. The company is also looking to lease space in which to build the cabinets.
The same release lists the products Richardson sells with partner Gotion Illinois: 211 kWh, 422 kWh and 760 kWh cabinets for commercial use, and a 5 MWh system for utility jobs. The on-site demonstration is the 5 MWh size.
The rebate line in that release: projects like this can apply for ComEd's Distributed Generation Rebate. Qualifying storage can receive an upfront rebate of up to $300 per kilowatt-hour. The worked example is a 13.5 kWh home battery, about $4,050. By our arithmetic, 13.5 times 300 is 4,050.
ComEd's 2026 terms sheet is more specific than "up to $300". Homes and small commercial accounts in the Under 100 kW demand class are at $300 per kWh of storage. Other commercial accounts are at $250 per kWh. The storage rebate sits with a qualifying generator. The terms also tie that rebate to ComEd's Scheduled Dispatch virtual power plant, a program the terms say is anticipated to start on 1 March 2027. If the sheet and the tariff disagree, the terms say the tariff wins.
5 MWh is 5,000 kWh, by our arithmetic. If the $250 rate covered every one of those kilowatt-hours, the sum is $1.25 million. If the $300 rate did, it is $1.5 million. Neither figure is in the release. No rebate award for this battery has been published. The release does not say which demand class the La Fox plant is in, or that solar sits beside the battery.
The state paper is older and separate. A REV Illinois agreement with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, effective 15 May 2025, sets 54 new full-time jobs at the La Fox site above a baseline of 207, and retention of 190. The site address in the agreement is 40 West 267 Keslinger Road. In August 2025 the company said it planned a capital investment of more than $8.5 million over four years. That investment figure is the company's, not a line in the agreement text we read.
Analogy: it is a sale sign in a hardware shop window. The poster says up to $300 off. The trade counter says $250, and only with the generator. The poster is not the invoice.
The program itself has paid out a lot already. The 12 October release says the Distributed Generation Rebate recently passed a $350 million milestone. That is the program's running total, not a payment for La Fox.
Good: A named factory, a named 5 MWh, a rebate with two published rates, and a jobs agreement with a headcount.
Bad: Still in design. No kilowatts, so no hours of run time. No price. No solar size. No savings.
Ugly: Reading only "up to $300" and multiplying it by 5,000 kWh invents a payment. A large commercial account is on the $250 line in the terms, and a battery with no published generator beside it may sit outside the rebate.
Soft next step: before anyone multiplies, get the site's demand class and whether generation is part of the job. Then a short consult at Sovryn Energy /consult if you want that checked against a ComEd bill.
Source: Richardson Electronics and ComEd joint release, 12 Oct 2026 - Illinois' largest commercial battery energy storage system. Primary for the 5 MWh La Fox demonstration, interconnection support, "largest commercial" claim, product sizes 211 / 422 / 760 kWh and a 5 MWh utility unit, Gotion Illinois, rebate "up to $300 per kilowatt-hour", 13.5 kWh home example of about $4,050, and the $350 million program milestone. ComEd Distributed Generation Rebate terms and conditions, 2026. Primary for $300/kWh residential and small commercial (Under 100 kW demand class), $250/kWh for other commercial accounts, storage associated with a qualifying generator, Scheduled Dispatch virtual power plant anticipated 1 March 2027, and tariff-over-sheet. Daily Herald, 12 Oct 2026 - Kane County company plans to build largest battery energy storage system on ComEd's grid. Primary for rear-of-headquarters siting, customer-model purpose, still in design, 44-ton cabinets, and the lease search, via Scott DuBois. Illinois DCEO REV agreement, effective 15 May 2025. Primary for 54 new full-time jobs, baseline 207, 190 retained, and 40 West 267 Keslinger Road. Richardson Electronics, August 2025 - capital investment announcement. Primary for more than $8.5 million over four years. 13.5 × 300 = 4,050, 5 MWh = 5,000 kWh, and the $1.25 million / $1.5 million products are our arithmetic, not published awards.