The new rooftop and carport system was built for the Chicago Urban League through the Illinois Solar for All program.
The rooftop and carport solar installations combined yield 213 kW of solar generating capacity for the Chicago Urban League, one of the country’s oldest urban advocacy organizations for the advancement of African Americans, demonstrating its commitment to bring clean, renewable energy to Chicago’s South Side community.
Renewable Energy Evolution developed, designed, and installed the system, which is one of the largest Illinois Solar for All projects in the city of Chicago. Illinois Solar for All is a program that assists low-income households and non-profit organization use state incentives to go solar.
Terrasmart, the renewable energy arm of Gibraltar Industries, supplied the fixed-tilt racking system for the two surface-lot canopies that make up the 162 kW solar carport. The Terrasmart carport produces solar energy while providing shade for Chicago Urban League visitors.
“We are excited about what this means for environmental justice across our communities in Chicago,” said project lead Andrew Wells, vice president of the Workforce Development Center at the Chicago Urban League. “Our project is bringing greater awareness, inclusion, and access to the clean energy economy for the people of the South Side.”
The solar system highlights the Chicago Urban League’s further commitment to advancing the community’s access to renewable energy. In 2017, the League launched two training programs in solar installation and PV sales through its Workforce Development Center program with solar incentives from Illinois Solar for All. Its annual cohort of 75 trainees has access to renewable energy job fairs, held in partnership with organizations such as the Illinois Solar Energy Association, the Solar Energy Industries Association, and the Coalition for Community Solar Access.
“We are honored to have played a part in such a monumental project,” said Ed McKiernan, president of Terrasmart. “Not only is this the largest PV commercial installation in the city of Chicago, but it’s an important milestone in providing more equitable access to the solar economy.”
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More articles from Anne Fischer
Doesn’t seem like the 162kW (AC) carport brings much “solar energy” to Chicago’s Southside. Solar installer job training is good, but the carport equals a meager 32 5kW (rooftop systems of 15 panels each). Worse, Illinois’ complicated net metering and RECs suggests the carport only qualifies for monetary energy credits equal to “avoided cost”, instead of kWh per “Solar Excess kWh” that NEM should provide, but only for a max up to 40kW capacity systems. https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/environment/netmetering.html Which also means hefty utility fees and taxes are not fully offset as they are for my Florida NEM rooftop system. Be nice if NREL & Fed Gov’t created and mandated a universal standard for NEM, to prevent utilities, politicians and ecomaniacs from holding distributed solar customers hostage as anti-NEM non-solar activists gain ground where electric rates continue to rise. Especially whether any of the “offset monetary value” should in the future be subjected to income taxes at Fed, State or City levels. Otherwise, 1099-MISC’s could be just around the corner for customers receiving more than $600/yr in perceived or real NEM freebies? 😜
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