Annual summer power outages have plagued Chicago in recent years, frustrating both residents and businesses alike, but solar energy is proving to be an ideal solution for the city’s energy woes. The sun is a boundless well of energy, giving off enough power every minute to meet the world’s energy demands for an entire year. The highest demands for energy in Chicago are on bright, sunny summer days — and these sunny days are perfect for converting solar power into usable energy. These days, Chicago is setting a new standard by harnessing some of this solar energy to power some of its museums, schools, and public buildings.
The Chicago Department of Environment is working closely with ComEd to help foot some of the bill for new solar projects, which will eventually include several schools, museums, and residential buildings. According to Steven Walter, Assistant Commissioner of the Energy Department of the Chicago Department of Environment, the city itself is committed to doling out $2 million for the solar projects, while ComEd will spend $12 million. Also contributing to the solar effort is the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs (DCCA). The DCCA matches the city’s dollars on a 60:40 split. "The DCCA has been very supportive," says Walter. "My goal is to have about 5 megawatts of solar installed within the city by 2005."
Museums
The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum was among the first to receive a photovoltaic system, which provides up to 33.6 kilowatts of electricity, or 40,000 kWh annually. The system was installed by Spire Solar Chicago, a local unit of the Spire Corporation, which produces and installs photovoltaic systems.
According to Christopher Dunn, Technical Operations Manager for the museum, "The system is providing 2 to 3 percent of the building’s energy." The museum has plans to use the system — the only solar installation visible from a public area — for educational exhibits to help inform visitors about the benefits of clean, renewable energy.
The Field Museum recently installed a similar project, a combined insulation and flat-roof module system, which generates up to 48.9 kilowatts of energy. Both the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and the Field Museum’s combined solar energy output is equivalent to that used by thirteen to sixteen houses per year.
Next in line is the Art Institute of Chicago. Their system, also installed by Spire Solar, will consist of 429 solar panels, with a generating capacity of 51.5 kilowatts. Installation was targeted for this past July.
According to Mark Burger of Spire Solar Chicago, future plans for photovoltaic systems installed by Spire include the Chicago Historical Society, the Museum of Science and Industry, and the DuSable Museum — all by the end of 2001.
Schools
The United States Department of Energy estimates that U.S. schools spend about $6 billion per year to meet their energy needs, but incorporating energy efficient solutions, such as photovoltaic systems and building restructuring, could save about 25 percent of the current cost.
The first Chicago Public School to acquire a photovoltaic system was the Frank W. Reilly Elementary School, at 3650 W. School Street. Reilly is one of Chicago’s largest elementary schools.
The 120-panel system generates 85 watts of power per panel, creating a system capable of generating up to 10 kilowatts. The system, designed to last for thirty years, is connected directly to the school’s electrical system, helping to support some of the school’s power needs. Any excess electricity produced by the system that is not needed for the school itself will benefit the surrounding community through ComEd’s power grid.
Over five years of using this solar powered system, the Reilly school will offset 120,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of driving a car 150,000 miles. Reilly students have become a part of the project as well, participating in interactive activities that monitor the system’s output. The students will eventually conduct an audit of the school and the photovoltaic system, to get an idea of its energy efficiency and to note any savings on the school’s electric bill.
According to Dan Lucas, the Science Chairperson at Reilly, while it’s still too soon to tell with numbers exactly how the solar panels are benefitting the school’s energy system, there have been other noticeable benefits. "There is a much higher interest in math, science, and the environment on the parts of both the students and staff," he says.
Lucas feels that the key to a successful energy efficient system is pairing conservation along with generating environmentally friendly energy, and enlisting these two factors together will only increase the impact of the project.
Frazier School, at 4027 W. Grenshaw Street, has also received the solar powered system. According to Burger, the solar systems at these schools will each generate the equivalent of the energy needed by two households. Spire Solar hopes to have installed their photovoltaic systems in Brentano, Douglas, Bouchet, and Taylor schools by the end of 2001, with plans to install systems in five more schools the following school year.
The Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) has also made strides in utilizing solar potential. Students from the school’s engineering department successfully developed and installed a photovoltaic system for a Chicago White Sox billboard outside Comiskey Park. ComEd covered construction costs, while Solarex, a division of BP Solar, donated the solar panels. The system generates 2.2 kilowatts of power, which is then stored for use at night games.
Solar energy plays a dual role at the Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Trust (EJATT) in Alsip. This vocational high school has introduced a photovoltaic system that will provide both electricity to the school and education for the students. The solar powered system will generate 5 kilowatts of energy to EJATT. Students will also benefit from the system by learning about the latest technology in photovoltaics. As a school that educates future electricians, solar energy is quickly coming to the forefront of their energy studies, where standard electrical training is being supplemented by the latest in solar advances. The project was partially funded by the DCCA, who chipped in $19,188, while the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 134 and the Electrical Contractors Association also contributed their services.
Other Agendas
• The city has taken on the task of converting brownfields, or abandoned, environmentally contaminated industrial sites, by recycling them into usable spaces. Currently undergoing a transformation is a brownfield site at 445 N. Sacramento. The site will be a model for environmentally friendly and energy efficient standards. This "green" site will eventually house the Midwest Center for Green Technology and Spire Solar Chicago’s new post.
• The Midwest Center for Green Technology, in partnership with ComEd, will soon be implementing the Retrofit program. Workers will be trained to learn how to audit buildings for their environmental friendliness, and to then make these buildings more energy efficient.
• The mayor recently announced that over the next three years, the city will spend $15 million dollars of its budget to make some public buildings more energy efficient. Any new public libraries built will require only a small additional cost to the building process in order to ensure that the buildings are more environmentally friendly.
• The city has also pledged to buy 20 percent of the electricity needed for city buildings from renewable sources — including solar, wind, and landfill gas power, over the next five years.
• The City of Chicago, along with the State of Illinois, ComEd, and the DCCA, will build a renewable energy farm on a former landfill site in Calumet City. After construction scheduled over the next three years, this ten-acre site will be home to the largest solar powered station in the United States, generating 500 kilowatts of energy. The photovoltaic system will produce about 750,000 kWh of electricity per year, the equivalent amount of energy needed to power one hundred homes.
• The city has recently allocated $50,000 in funds to be used towards the construction of "Green Homes" which will serve as models for affordable energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and resource conservation. The homes, built on city-owned property in the Englewood and Hermosa neighborhoods, will then be sold, with the proceeds reinvested into future Green Homes.
Several other solar projects are in the works, including the City Colleges of Chicago, the Chicago Park District, and the CTA. The DCCA’s Walter says, "We are then going into the residential market, paying for solar on about twenty newly built homes in the city’s‘New Homes for Chicago’ program," a city funded program that provides subsidies to developers so that they can lower the selling price for families in need.
Spire estimates that the total energy output generated by their solar installations across Chicago on various museums, schools, and other buildings will reach 500-600 peak kilowatts by the end of 2001. That, fellow Chicagoans, is a reason for civic pride. In fact, according to Jessica Rio of the Department of Environment, "Chicago has made the single largest commitment to renewable energy in the United States."
Resources
Chicago Department of Environment
Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs
Spire Solar
ComEd
Field Museum
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
Schools Going Solar database