Courtesy of SunPower Corporation

by Glen Kizer

I know if anyone had asked me in which state is the largest solar electricity system based on any factor I would simply say California to be safe.  New Jersey is coming in with a lot of solar installations, but I have always just assumed that the biggest PV systems in any category would be located inside the State of California.  So it was a huge surprise to me to discover that the largest solar installation in any urban city in the US is actually in the City of Chicago and very close to Lake Michigan.  It is on the South Side of Chicago and not very far from where the Chicago White Sox play baseball.  It is 10 MW so it is a large system for anywhere, but it is huge for a location within an urban US city.

Courtesy of SunPower Corporation

Exelon (the owner of ComEd) completed work on the installation recently and the dedication was on July 21, 2010.  SunPower actually manufactured the solar panels and did a lot of the installation work along with the local IBEW in Chicago, and Turner Construction.  It is located at West 120^th Street on 41 acres of ground that was a “brownfield” site and vacant for more than 30 years.  It now has 32,292 solar panels that convert the sun’s rays into clean electricity with zero carbon emissions.

Because it is a “brownfield” site there is a berm around the entire 41 acres as well as a fence and video cameras for security.  The site is now productive, but the water runoff is still controlled so that no water hits the site and then flows off site.  All runoff remains on the site.

The SunPower system has number of trackers that keep the solar panels facing the sun.  So in the morning, the solar panels face the East to catch the morning sun.  In the afternoon, the solar panels face the West to catch the afternoon sun and in the middle of the day most of the 32,000 solar panels face south to catch the midday sun.  It is an amazing site to see these solar panels gradually turning and following the sun every day.

Gabriela Martin of Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation and I were there for the tour.  Jim Amedeo of SunPower was our tour guide, and Jim is on site every day conducting tours and making sure the system is working properly.  Gabriela was especially pleased to see the huge solar array since she used to work at Exelon and had suggested this type of installation many years ago.  “It is fun to see my idea turned into reality,” Gabriela said on the tour.  In fact she kept saying over and over again “this is so much fun to see.”

As part of the project SunPower has agreed to donate “solar school” projects  to local Chicago Public Schools so there will be 5 schools with over 2 kW each to add to the Illinois Solar Schools web site.   The schools have been selected, and construction and permitting has begun.

An interesting note: the voltage of the electricity generated by the solar array is 245 watts AC.  Since all of the electricity has to go into the ComEd power grid which operates at 12,000 watts.  This means the voltage is stepped up on the site from 245 to 12,000 before it flows out onto the power grid and supplies electricity for homes and businesses on the south side of Chicago.

Courtesy of SunPower Corporation

Another interesting note:  the array supplies the electricity for the equivalent of about 1,500 homes.

Another interesting note:  the vacant site generated virtually no revenue for the City of Chicago for the past 30 years and it is doubtful that anything would have ever been built on the site because of the tremendous cost of “fixing” the environmental problems on the site.  Today the site is generating revenue for the City of Chicago.

Solar Panels

Gabriela Martin of Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation and Jim Amedeo of SunPower

Gabriela Martin of Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation and Jim Amedeo of SunPower

Solar Panels

In the Jasper County Community Unit School District #1 in Newton, Illinois, one of the newest schools in the Illinois Solar Schools Program is Newton Elementary School. Their solar electricity or photovoltaic or PV system is 1,020 watts and consists of 6 Sharp solar panels rated at 170 watts each. View the solar electricity generation data showing how much the system at Newton Elementary is producing.

There are 571 students in their district and Phil Benefial the Director of Buildings and Grounds and Travis Wyatt the school principal were the prime movers for the installation.

Jasper Solar Installation

According to Phil, “Our entire district is excited about the solar installation. We are so thankful to Illinois Clean Energy for providing us with the grant funds to go forward with this project.”

The project was funded in large part from a grant from Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation. “We are delighted that Newton Illinois has joined our solar schools program and we look forward to working with them over the next few years to create unique and innovative educational opportunities for their students. They will have a chance to explore the science and math of solar energy in a way that many students never get to do,” said Gabriela Martin of Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation.

This school, as well as solar schools all over Illinois, can be seen at IllinoisSolarSchools.org

Teacher training workshops will be held in December, 2010. One workshop will be Springfield and the other will be held in Chicago. The National Energy Education Development Project (NEED) is conducting the workshops and the details will be sent out to the school contacts for all of the solar schools in October.

–Glen Kizer

In Mt Zion, Illinois, the Mt Zion Intermediate School recently completed a 1 kW photovoltaic (or PV) installation with the help of a grant from Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation. The project involves a PV system installed awning style on the side of the school building, solar energy education in the classroom, teacher training workshops, live streaming data showing how much electricity is being created by the PV system, and a solar celebration.

Dr. Travis Roundcount is the primary contact at the school and has been the main force guiding the project from grant application to the hiring of the installer to the completion of the installation. Dr. Roundcount told us:

“The Mt. Zion community is very pleased to have taken the first steps in using alternative energy and I believe a large scale solar power project will be in our future.”

The live data stream will be visible later this week at IllinoisSolarSchools.org but is currently available here.

The system consists of 6 Sharp 175 watt solar panels and an enphase inverter.

If you want to ask Dr.. Roundcount any questions or congratulate him and his school, here is his email.

And by Monday the Mt Zion Intermediate School will have a web page up at IllinoisSolarSchools.org. We just wanted to give you this early preview of the project and a picture so you could see what the installation looks like.

–Glen Kizer

Solar for Africa and the Amazon – Solar Electric Light Fund – fighting climate change and poverty with solar - Give Now

Solar Advocacy – support the solar advocates doing work around the US – Vote Solar - Give Now

Solar for Turtles – La Tortuga Feliz – help support the next phase of solar work at the sanctuary and the turtles year round - Give Now

Solar Affordable Housing – Grid Alternatives – low income housing and green jobs in California - Give Now

Solar Education – 100 People Foundation – connecting more schools and profiling solar leaders in the US and around the world  - Give Now

This is by no means an exhaustive list…pick your solar cause, and let’s change our solar present and future together!

By Katie Kizer

People tend to start renewable energy projects – and more specifically, solar PV projects—for all sorts of reasons. They want to educate students, promote awareness in the community, or they may just want to prove they are “going green” along with the rest of the world. After taking the initiative to start these types of projects, a more appropriate question that arises is, why do they keep going? As Steve Ruelli of the Skokie School District 73.5 explains it, he was bitten by the bug.

After a successful solar PV installation at McCracken Middle School, Steve’s interest immediately turned to possible improvements on the John Middleton Elementary School. He explored various options for energy efficiency and renewable energy, yet he decided to once again pursue a solar PV system. This is because roof-mounted solar PV panels can easily be integrated into existing buildings, such as the elementary school. They installed another 1 kW solar PV system, for which data is available to monitor online, and Steve is already looking to expand. The project’s funding was made possible by ComEd and the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation.Back to the original question, why keep going?

It’s because people like Steve know that it works.

It’s also because the Skokie School District is very supportive of green technologies, and in the type of environment where innovation is encouraged and even facilitated, renewable energy thrives. All it takes is one committed person, like Steve, who knows the ropes.

Like the McCracken installation and all of the Illinois Solar Schools, this system will be used as an educational tool for students, staff, and community to learn about the power of the sun. As the district has continued to expand upon its green credentials, its reputation has mirrored the advancements. Steve explains that he is being asked to be part of a “green tour” as a result of the example that the district has set. He has also been asked to head a test project for a 30-50 kW solar PV system. Such a large system would offset a notable portion of energy while saving a chunk of change on utility bills.

Not only have the people of Skokie School District 73.5 seen this technology work, they are continuing to set the bar for what these installations can achieve. Steve told me that his goal is to be a leader in the industry and to exemplify these successful systems for other educational facilities—a way for others to learn from Skokie’s example. If you ask me, we should all be bitten by the bug.

Our 8^th grade students have really been impressive in their effort to help the school district save money along with seeking out ways for the school to use more sustainable energy. Last year’s students were originally presented with a problem to look for ways to reduce energy use and cost in our school. One of their solutions was to use energy-saving lights. Thanks to an administration that listens to students and the generous support of the Lutron lighting company, our classroom is now fitted with a balance LC system that measures the sunlight coming in the room to determine the amount of electric light needed. That system has resulted in a 50% savings in energy use and is part of a new Lutron program involving schools nationwide called Greenovation. (For more information about Greenovation you can visit www.lutron.com/greenovation).

The students were also interested in capturing solar energy. We had Mr. Jay Bingaman from Thomas school visit to explain how their solar array worked and the process he went through to get funding from Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation. The ambitious group of students followed up by writing a grant for South. Again with the support of administration we were able to receive the grant and enjoy our new array. This year’s students have been inspired to follow in the path of the previous class. They are currently working on an application for the Ecozone Contest for $100,000.

CBS News Chicago did a report on our entry process. (To see a copy of the CBS piece go to 

http://cbs2chicago.com/video/?id=52486@wbbm.dayport.com).

Since both our panel and lighting system will be connected to a web site, we can monitor both energy use and production. Our students will be monitoring each sustainable effort to make appropriate decisions in regards to changes we will make in the future. We will also be planning our Solar Celebration for April 9.

Our students are having a tremendous impact in reducing our school’s carbon footprint as they show leadership and creativity in their efforts.