Community Solar Case Study Sites
COMMUNITY SOLAR
Case Study Sites
The Project
The Cook County Community Solar Project uses 15 case studies to show that community solar energy is possible in our region, and has the potential to bring access and equity in renewable energy to the three quarters of the County’s residents currently left out because of technical or financial barriers to investing in solar. Community solar can also bring significant numbers of jobs to the region.
Case Study Overview
The Community Solar Case Study Overview document describes this process in detail, and sets forth assumptions made in the process. The fifteen individual case studies below and their appendices provide detail about each site.
Cook County Community Solar: Case Study Overview
The Sites
The sites represent a diverse set of business models. They include: small and large solar installations; public, private and nonprofit ownership; and a variety of subscriber models including residential, commercial/institutional, and low income. Engineering and financial analysis and solar design were conducted for each site.
While each site owner will make an independent decision on whether to go forward with solar installation, these case studies will provide realistic and practical project plans for guidance on the development of successful community solar projects that can be replicated across the region. .
Commmunity Solar Case Study Sites
| Site (click to view case details) | Location | Estimated Solar Capacity | Site Ownership | Proposed System Ownership | Proposed Installation Type | Proposed Subscription Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie State College | Chicago Heights | 2 MW | Public | Developer | Ground Tracking + Carports | Panel Lease |
| Altgeld Gardens | Chicago | 2 MW | Public | Public (Host Owned) | Ground Tracking | Panel Lease |
| Markham Courthouse | Markham | 2 MW | Public | Developer | Rooftop Ballasted + Carports | Panel Lease |
| CTA Maintenance Facility | Skokie | 1900 kW | Public | Developer | Rooftop Ballasted + Carports | Panel Lease |
| Rich East High School | Park Forest | 1640 kW | Public | Developer | Rooftop Ballasted + Carports | Panel Lease |
| Des-Plaines - Lake Landfill | Des Plaines | 1420 kW | Nonprofit | Special Entity-Flip Structure (Host Owned) | Ground Ballasted | Panel Lease |
| UAL Data Center | Glenview | 1400 kW | Private | Developer | Rooftop Ballasted | Panel Lease |
| Taft High School | Chicago | 579 kW | Public | Developer | Roof Ballasted | Panel Lease |
| Housing Authority of Cook County | Chicago Heights | 562 kW | Public | Developer | Ground Tracking | Panel Lease |
| Our Lady of Perpetual Help | Glenview | 534 kW | Nonprofit | Developer | Rooftop Ballasted + Carports | Panel Lease - Donor |
| Warren Park Field House | Chicago | 534 kW | Public | Developer | Rooftop Ballasted + Carports | Panel Lease |
| Rockwell Industrial Building | Chicago | 470 kW | Private | Private (Host Owned) | Rooftop Ballasted | Panel Lease |
| Knox Industrial Building | Chicago | 279 kW | Private | Private (Host Owned) | Rooftop Ballasted | Panel Lease |
| Hill Arboretum Apartments | Evanston | 127 kW | Nonprofit | Nonprofit (Host Owned) | Rooftop Ballasted | Panel Lease |
| 7200 S Kimbark | Chicago | 54 kW | Private | Private | Rooftop | Distributed Generation |
Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative, the project was carried out by Project Partners: Cook County, Elevate Energy, the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the City of Chicago, ComEd, and West Monroe Partners.
