As the sun emerged briefly between cloudbursts Thursday morning, the Robert Crown Community Center rooftop solar installation was officially inaugurated.
More than 1,600 panels take advantage of “the largest fusion reactor in our solar system,” said Christopher Gersch, founder and CEO of Verde, the Chicago-based solar engineering company that built the system and will manage its operation.
“It’s free energy, and right now more than ever we’re seeing wars waged over natural resources and an old way of doing things,” he said. “We absolutely need to continue to push in Evanston, a shining star of what can be, to show that utilizing the sun is really the best kind of fuel you can get.”
When ComEd flips the switch in the next day or two, electrons will start flowing into the grid, said Grace Rasmussen, Verde’s lead engineer.
Councilmember Jonathan Nieuwsma (4th Ward) uses a giant scissors to cut a ribbon to mark the opening of a new rooftop solar system at the Robert Crown Center. Credit: Richard Cahan The center is now in the Second Ward but was in the Fourth Ward when the project got underway. Both Councilmembers Krissie Harris (2nd Ward) and Jonathan Nieuwsma (4th Ward) were on hand to celebrate the occasion.
Nieuwsma, a longtime renewable energy advocate, calculated that the power produced by the new system would support 213 houses with energy use equivalent to his own. Government at all levels has played a crucial role in advancing the clean energy revolution, he said. At the federal level, that has included funding for basic research and policies like tax credits that stimulate investment.
In Illinois, legislation going back to 2007 has helped create a strong market for renewable energy and “caused the solar industry to explode.” Before the 2016 Future Energy Jobs Act, the state had 80 megawatts of solar capacity. Last year, thanks to state policy, that number was more than 6,000 megawatts.
At the local level, Evanston’s climate action plans call for zero emissions by 2050. So far, the community has achieved a 40% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the baseline. There are plans to electrify all city-owned properties, and the Healthy Buildings Ordinance begins the process of decarbonizing privately owned property, Nieuwsma said.
This is not the city’s first solar project. Panels were installed at the water facility in 2010, and the Levy Senior Center also has solar panels. The 2021 Evanston Municipal Operations Zero Emissions Strategy
“There’s a lot more to do,” Nieuwsma said. Next on the list are the animal shelter and Dr. Jorge and Luz Maria Prieto Community Center. The city will handle these installations, which are too small for a power-purchase agreement of the kind that has made the Crown Center system feasible. Under the agreement, there is no city outlay for capital or operational costs, and the city pays a discounted rate for electricity.
City engineer Lara Biggs recognized partners and staff who had been involved in the project, including project manager Tim Kirkby and sustainability and resilience manager Cara Pratt, who wrote the 2023 request for proposals, the city’s first of its kind.
“Let us turn this building into a beacon of renewable energy,” she said.
Related Stories
