Chicago's South Side Goes Solar

An abandoned industrial site in Chicago, Ill. received a $60 million makeover into an award-winning solar power plant.

By Lauren Felechner and Carina Calhoun

Measuring 10 megawatts and located in Chicago's South Side stands Exelon City Solar, a giant power plant that provides enough electricity for about 1,500 homes. Taking the title as the nation's largest urban solar power plant, the development of this monstrosity began in March 2009 when Exelon Corporation contracted California-based SunPower Corporation to build the plant on a previous industrial site measuring 41 acres. In March 2010, Exelon City Solar was completed with more than 7,000 steel piers installed that were required to mount the even greater 32,328 solar panels by Environmental Design International Inc. (EDI).

EDI served as the Engineer of Record for the project hired by SunPower and provided site civil design, geotechnical engineering, environmental investigation and land surveying services. Deborah M. Sawyer, president and CEO of EDI put Exelon's capability in producing enough energy for 1,500 homes into perspective by comparing it to, "…Eliminating approximately 30 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions annually." Sawyer explained, "By choosing [former industrial] site, Exelon took a brownfield and redeveloped it in a very environmentally-friendly way."

Coming in under budget, the original project budget was set by a turnkey contract between Exelon and SunPower at $63 million and was completed with $60 million. This plant not only brought energy to nearby communities, but it brought life back to the West Pullman neighborhood that was once a thriving location for industry in Chicago. After the initial removal of several toxic waste-filled 55 gallon drums, followed a number of physical improvements to the 41-acre, disowned site that included: the removal of three underground oil storage tanks; the halt on the site being used as a dumping ground; and removing exposed water-filled basements, cisterns and underground vaults. According to John J. Murphy, the senior project manager of Exelon, the site was enhanced by replacing the original, dilapidated chain link fence with a more architectural one, and adding a Visitor's Center and 24-hour security surveillance on-site. He said, "We believe that cleaning up and redeveloping the site to generate environmentally-friendly power was a productive use of the property." He continued, "We also saw this as an opportunity to help beautify and revitalize West Pullman, an area where industry once thrived."

With the use of cutting-edge solar technology, it is no wonder that Exelon City Solar gained recognition as a multi-award winning project. SunPower's rotating panels that "follow" the sun using a proprietary single-axis design also increases the sunlight intake up to 25 percent; their newly-designed solar panel with increased efficiency allowing for a reduction of nearly 300 panels across the site; and their patented solar cells that are about 50 percent more efficient than typical cells are among the roster of brag-worthy components that the project employs. It is safe to say that the project is very much deserving of its 2011 Honor Award, 2011 Eminent Conceptor Award by the American Council of Consulting Engineers of Illinois, alongside its national recognition by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC).

A project of this magnitude does not come to be without challenges. Therefore, it is a good thing that the City of Chicago's Department of Environment remained involved as they aided in the necessary developmental solutions, according to Murphy, "For example, when the underground oil storage tanks were discovered, they quickly assessed the situations, published a strict list of requirements that needed to be adhered to, and coordinated the permits that the contractor needed to safely remove and dispose of the tanks." Although the site used for Exelon City Solar was not quite up to par, EDI still wanted to provide a low-impact design by turning the previous industrial site's abandoned slabs, foundations and basements into potential roads, anchoring points for solar arrays and stormwater detention vaults. Despite the fact that this project is the nation's largest urban solar plant, it still managed to make less of an impact up until completion.

With its initial creation of at least 200 temporary jobs during the manufacturing, material supply and construction processes, local Chicago residents were trained and used for at least half of the working hours for the development of Exelon City Solar. This project continues to give back past its completion date as SunPower facilitates the location to aid in training development and apprentice programs in the Chicago area that will ultimately help supply trained technicians for future solar industry projects in not only Chicago, but statewide across Illinois.

Exelon City Solar missed no power producing deadlines and continues to stand as a testament and set an example for future urban renewable energy sources.

Lauren Felechner is an editorial assistant at American Infrastructure and may be contacted at lfelechner@penpubinc.com.

Carina Calhoun is an assistant editor at American Infrastructure and may be contacted at ccalhoun1@penpubinc.com.