Solar panels now fill a vacant lot in Chicago's South Side

Chicago’s South Side is home to the largest urban solar plant in the nation! The former industrial site has been improved with over 32,000 solar panels with tracking technology to help maximize efficiency by following the sun across the sky.  Operated by Exelon Corporation, the project has resulted in a number of green jobs, while spurring future solar development in Illinois.

The 40-acre site, previously vacant, now generates 10 megawatts (MW) of solar electricity – enough to completely power 1,500 homes and take the equivalent of 2,500 cars off the road annually.

Some commentators give credit to the recent reduction in overhead costs for solar power.  Since 2008, the price of solar panels has dropped dramatically by 40% or more.  At the same time, government incentives have ballooned.  States across the nation are adopting green jobs incentive legislation, as well as renewable energy targets.

I hear you – you might be wondering why the largest urban solar plant is located in Chicago, rather than a city in California or Arizona.  Truth be told, Illinois enjoys more intense sunlight than either Japan or Germany – the world’s largest solar markets.

The Exelon solar plant will sell both solar electricity and solar renewable energy credits.

Kevin Lynch, who trains electricians to install solar panels notes the positive impact the new uptick in solar development could have for the economy, including the specific Chicago South Side site:

These were actual construction jobs, with decent wages, health insurance and pensions.  And there’s going to be clean energy coming from that site for years and years to come.

Fortunately for contractors looking for jobs and consumers looking to lower their utility bills, there are more than 22,000 MW of utility scale solar developments underway this year!  Those projects could generate enough power for 4.4 million homes.  And perhaps be the tipping point for the rest of us that are considering solar power as a viable, green option.

Ground mounted solar panels comprise the largest solar plant in the U.S.

A small town in Florida will soon have some very big bragging rights. The Desoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center has been under construction for a year, testing is nearly complete, and the 25 MW facility will be the largest solar plant in the United States.  Annually, it will generate 42,000 megawatt-hours (MWh), which is enough to completely power 3,000 homes.

Comprised of 180 acres of ground-mounted solar panels – over 90,000 panels total – the new solar plant will generate twice as much solar electricity as the next largest solar plant in the U.S.  Electricity will be fed into the Florida Power & Light grid, which provides energy to 4 million customers.

The switch will be flipped this week, and clean solar energy will start flowing into the grid tomorrow.  Yet, the DeSoto Next Generation solar plant will enjoy its “day in the sun” only briefly.  While it is the largest solar plant in the United States today, larger projects also are underway in California and Nevada.

Solar power in Florida has a way to go, to catch up with national leading states like California, New Jersey and Colorado.  While rooftop solar panels can be found in the Sunshine State, larger-scale projects are starting to come online more slowly, due to the lack of mandates and programs like California’s Million Solar Roofs.

Better late than never, I say!

Individual PV Panels on a home in Florida

The Desoto facility is the third of two other solar projects spearheaded by Florida Power & Light. Combined, they will generate a total of 110 MW of power, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 3.5 million tons…. the equivalent of removing 25,000 cars from the road each year!

A few additional facts:

• The Desoto project cost $150 million to build
• 400 new, green jobs were created
  
• The United States trails other nations in constructing photovoltaic (PV) plants
• Spain, Germany and China have made larger, governmental commitments to solar power
• Florida Gov. Charlie Crist tried, but failed to get a law passed that would have required power companies to generate 20 percent of their electricity through clean sources by 2020.

Many are hoping that the DeSoto Next Generation plant will spur additional solar development in Florida, and encourage the Legislature to finally pass laws that will continue to encourage green development in the state.  Its time to pay attention right now, while it can still claim that its the largest solar plant in the United States!