West Pullman Houses Nation’s briefs Largest Urban Solar Power Plant
Posted on 28. Jul, 2010 by admin in Community Focus
Exelon’s solar plant “demonstrates that Chicago and any city can be a solar city,” said Julie Blunden of SunPower, whose solar tracking technology allows each panel to generate 25-30% more power than conventional panels.
Through the collective efforts of public officials, private businesses and local residents, Chicago’s South side has the largest urban solar plant in the nation. “It takes not one individual…it takes us all collectively,” said Ald. Carrie Austin (34th).
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included over $80 billion for the creation and expansion of renewable energy sources and clean energy technology in an effort to move the nation toward a more environmentally sound existence.
“As we recover from this recession, the transition to clean energy has the potential to grow our economy and create millions of jobs -– but only if we accelerate that transition…only if we seize the moment. And only if we rally together and act as one nation –- workers and entrepreneurs; scientists and citizens; the public and private sectors,” President Barack Obama said in his June 15 national address on the BP oil spill.
Citizens, community organizations, public officials and private businesses on Chicago’s South side are seizing the moment. On July 21, Mayor Richard M. Daley, Ald. Carrie Austin (34th), Exelon officials, Julie Blunden of SunPower and President/CEO of Riteway-Huggins Construction Larry Huggings, joined community members for the dedication of Exelon’s new solar power plant.
“In Chicago, the environment is a major component of our strategy to attract people and jobs, remain competitive in the global economy…Our challenge now is to seize the future and the opportunities it offers,” said Daley. “Those who do not see the future will not survive in this global economy.”
The 41-acre West Pullman site, a former industrial brownfield had been vacant for 30 years. Work on the plant began in July of 2009 after years of site remediation by Navistar International Corporation, the former owner of the site. Navistar, formerly International Harvester, owned the West Pullman Works site for more than 75 years. In 1996, they enrolled the property (21 acres) in the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) Site Remediation Program (SRP). In conjunction with community officials and organizations like Austin and the Victory Heights/Maple Park Advisory Council, remediation ended in September 2009 with the Remedial Action Completion Report currently under review by Illinois EPA. Projects like this take the entire community, not just one individual, according to Austin. “We have to…take our desolate areas and turn them into something,” she said. “It (the site) is something now…where we can have our children come in and learn.”
The plant, a $60 million project, has 32,292 solar voltaic panels. These panels convert sunlight into enough electricity (over 14,000 megawatthours) to meet the annual energy needs of up to 1,500 homes—emitting no carbon emissions, according to Exelon.
In addition to its benefits to the environment, plant construction created 200 construction jobs most going to local residents and about 40 percent of the contractors were minority-owned, according to Exelon Chairman and CEO John Rowe. The plant along with other clean energy sources throughout the city is, according to Daley, showing how a large city can live in harmony with the environment. The Exelon project is moving Chicago towards its environmental goals, as described in the Climate Action Plan—its strategy for lowering greenhouse gas emissions and addressing climate change in the city, Daley said. “The benefits of the Climate Action Plan go beyond the…goal of improving the environment. The actions that have the greatest impact…will also create jobs, save companies and residents money, enhance our quality of life and position the city and its residents for future economic growth.”
