By Katrina Kernodle

Though the term "brownfield" is not yet common parlance for all Americans, most people are aware of blighted areas that their towns should "do something about" and might recall heated discussions about land management by the presidential candidates in this year’s campaign. For two years, the City of Chicago and the Spire Corporation (the world’s leading provider of photovoltaic-related products) have been developing the precedent-setting Midwest Center for Green Technology on former city land long regarded as a wasteland.

Pick any thriving city in the world and you most assuredly will find wasted, sometimes contaminated, land within the city limits. "...Brownfields get passed over while greenfields get paved over [by urban developers], furthering...urban sprawl," stated Texas Governor Bush, in an April 3, 2000 AP interview, describing a dilemma faced by many cities. Multiple federal agencies have a role in environmental and economic revitalization. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are among the key players in brownfield revitalization. (For more information, see www.eren.doe.gov/csp/ or www.epa.gov.)

With a population density of approximately 3 million people on 150,000 acres, Chicago, Illinois is one of the nation’s most populous cities, after New York and Los Angeles. Chicago’s location on Lake Michigan and its 24 miles of shoreline parks (totaling 2,990 acres) arguably make the city one of the greenest in the United States. However, significant city acreage in Chicago is idle or abandoned.

A 17-acre brownfield turned "green" facility, termed the Midwest Center for Green Technology, has placed Chicago in the spotlight as a pioneer in photovoltaic, or PV (solar power), systems implementation. In 1994, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) assisted Chicago with a $4 million award in Economic Development Initiative (EDI) grant funds as well as $50 million in Section 108 loan guarantee funds to acquire, assemble, and environmentally remediate brownfields for industrial and business purposes.

The project entails completely redeveloping the property formerly owned by Sacramento Crushing, a construction and demolition debris recycling company. The Chicago Department of Environment (CDOE) took possession of the site in 1996 after placing an environmental lien on the property. By 1998, CDOE began a $9 million clean-up effort of the site. In addition to the environmental concerns posed by the property, the site also represented an aesthetic challenge as well as an economic development loss to the area when the recycling company was closed.

Spurred by the Department of Energy "brightfields" initiative (a DOE program to revitalize brownfields for productive use, combining environmental and economic benefits), the CDOE attracted the Spire Corporation. Spire agreed to establish a Chicago-based branch, Spire Solar Chicago, on the brownfield site and to facilitate the use of solar power in Chicago. Spire is the world’s leading supplier of photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing equipment, turnkey production lines, and solar energy business. Steve Hogan, Spire Solar Vice President and General Manager, spoke optimistically about the progress of the project and the opportunity for Spire Solar Chicago to be a strategic partner with the City of Chicago in advancing the use of renewable energy resources. (For more information about the Spire Corporation view www.spirecorp.com.)

Many brownfield redevelopment proposals have to be rejected due to environmental regulations stipulating that land must be decontaminated prior to re-use. However, installing racks of solar panels does not require excavation, and there is little likelihood that the new facility will disturb any residual contaminants.

Spire Solar Chicago is leasing 5,000 square feet of a two-story, city-owned and renovated building on the site. Additionally, the facility will serve as a demonstration and educational site for Greencorps Chicago, an organization dedicated to "hands-on" training for disadvantaged Chicagoans. Greencorps provides skills related to landscaping and horticulture that can be applied in the job market. Greencorps also will maintain training gardens and a greenhouse. According to Public Relations Representative, Mark Farina of CDOE, the joint Chicago Environmental Fund/American Institute of Architects' Environmental Committee design plans for the facility include:

• Heat-producing greenhouse
• Reuse of captured rainwater
• Energy-efficient landscaping
• Rooftop solar panels
• High performance windows
• Super-insulated building shell

Other creative aspects of the building include light colored paving and roofing surfaces for improved insulation, high quality fluorescent lighting with varying levels of light intensity and a high efficiency HVAC system.

In addition to a system designed to supply the company’s electrical needs, Spire Solar Chicago’s products will be used by city schools, and as a back-up system for city traffic lights, garages, transit facilities and certain museums. The Chicago Public School System, the third largesst school system in the country, has implemented PV systems as a part of the "Million Solar Roofs" program sponsored by the City and Spire Solar Chicago. Reilly Elementary was the first Chicago school to have 120 solar power units installed at a cost of approximately $100,000 with electricity bill savings anticipated at 2% to 5%.

The City of Chicago is investing $2 million into Spire Solar Chicago products and Commonwealth Edison, Chicago's electric utility, has ordered $6 million of the company's output in addition to another $6 million invested in Spire Solar Chicago. ComEd’s investment represents the largest shareholder-funded program for buying and installing PV equipment in the country. In turn, Spire Solar Chicago will install a vertically integrated photovoltaic module production and systems assembly and installation business in Chicago. At present, the city has ownership and maintenance responsibilities in order to evaluate the functionality and cost-effectiveness of the facility and the technology. However, CDOE’s Mark Farina indicated that Spire potentially could purchase the property.

Department of Energy. "Chicago Developing New Center for "Green" Industry." DOE Internet Web site. August 4, 1999.

Farina, Mark. Public Relations Representative, Public Education; Chicago Department of Environment: Telephone Interview on November 9, 2000.

Harnik, Peter. "Inside City Parks." Urban Land Institute. 2000. p.25.

Hogan, Steve. Vice President and General Manager, Spire Solar; Spire Corporation: Telephone Interview on November 15, 2000.

Interstate Renewable Energy Council. "Chicago." PV4You Connections Newsletter #11. Fall 1999. Johnson, Glen. "Bush Plays the Green Card." The Associated Press. April 3, 1999.

Murphy, Pat. "Chicago Looks on Bright Side with Solar Power." Environmental News Network Internet Website. December 28, 1999.