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Page 43 of 70 INNOVATIVE, ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY ENERGY INITIATIVESAugust 4, 1999 Chicago Tribune SOLAR POWER FACTORY TO BRIGHTEN WEST SIDE Ellen Almer, Tribune Staff Writer. An abandoned industrial site on Chicago's West Side will be developed into a factory for solar power panels to be used on buildings throughout the city as a backup power source.
Mayor Richard Daley made the announcement this morning at the site of the project, at 445 N. Sacramento Ave.
The building will be developed by Spire Corp., a Massachusetts-based manufacturer of solar panels. Already, the city and Commonwealth Edison Co. have agreed to make $8 million in purchases from the factory, which is expected to open next year.
The development, Daley said, also will create as many as 100 jobs for he city.
The solar panels will be placed on local elementary schools, CTA fleet garages and possibly high-rise apartment buildings as a backup energy source.
The announcement comes on the heels of the recent heat wave -- and the accompanying power outages that prompted intense criticism of Com Ed.
Com Ed chair John Rowe, also at today's announcement, acknowledged that solar energy is "not yet the economic solution of choice" as a primary energy source. He said, however, that it is useful as a backup method of electricity.
City officials today said they have spoken to 46th Ward Ald. Helen Shiller, whose Lakeview ward was hardest hit by the latest outage, about installing solar panels on high-rise apartments there.
The site now is known as a "brownfield," or an abandoned polluted former industrial site. "By replacing these sprawling, dangerous eyesores with new industry, we're basically improving the quality of life for those in the surrounding community," Daley said at today's announcement.
The development also will include space for the city's Greencorps program, which works with local social service agencies to train people for jobs in landscaping and also plants gardens throughout the city. A greenhouse is included in plans for the site.
Copyright © 1999 Chicago Tribune Company
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