The project, called Exelon City Solar, sits on a former brownfield in Chicago's South Side, a part of the city once pockmarked by crime and blight. The 41-acre site was rehabilitated and cleansed of toxic chemicals - and the benefits of the new solar array are manifold for city residents, Exelon CEO John Rowe and Chicago mayor Richard Daley said.
Exelon City Solar, Rowe enthused, will "enhance the neighboring community by beautifying a brownfield and improving safety for local residents."
And Daley lauded the project as "a great example of the good things that happen when government and the private sector work together."
The solar array, Exelon reports, will generate 14,000 megawatt-hours of energy each year - enough to power 1,500 average homes. It will offset the emissions of 31.2 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions each year, as well.
If Exelon City Solar is successful, more solar projects - and more green jobs - could come to Chicago. Illinois' unemployment rate, at 10.4 percent, is higher than the national average, and solar construction jobs would no doubt be welcome in the state.
