New Energy Future News

CHICAGO, IL—A project that would bring the nation’s largest urban solar plant to Chicago’s South Side is moving forward at full speed, as the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance that would allow the city to lease the 41 acres for development of the plant to Exelon Solar Chicago LLC.  

The project, a joint venture between Exelon and SunPower, calls for the development of a 10 MW solar photovoltaic plant at an unused brownfield site in the West Pullman neighborhood of Chicago.  The plant would contain 32,800 solar photovoltaic panels, creating 200 construction jobs from the direct construction of the plant and saving over 14,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. 

“Just as previous generations engaged in a race to the moon, we’re now seeing a race to take advantage of the sun,” said Environment Illinois’s Brian Granahan.  “All around the world, nations are moving to harness the sun’s power to reduce energy costs, reduce carbon emissions, and reduce fossil fuel consumption.  We should be no different.” 

As of 2008, Chicago has approximately 2.2 MW of online solar power capacity within its city limits[i] – less than 53 different cities across California.[ii]  With 10 MW of new online solar power from this project alone, Chicago would nearly quintuple its solar power production. 

The ordinance calls for a lease term of 25 years with an option to continue the lease for 25 more years after the initial lease term ends.  As part of the lease agreement, Exelon and the City of Chicago both agree to obligations regarding the environmental rehabilitation of the West Pullman site.   

The 10 MW of solar power from the site would be enough to power 1200 to 1500 Chicagoland homes.  The project could be constructed and operational by as soon as January 2010.  

“For Chicago to be a true leader on environmental issues, it must also be a leader on this vital resource,” said Granahan.  “We’re delighted to see the Chicago City Council take a big step forward to a cleaner, more sustainable future by approving this ordinance.”