Story submitted by Katie Kizer, who worked as an intern for Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation in support of their Illinois solar schools projects.

Not too long ago, my father, Glen Kizer, said to me, “Just call Benedictine University and ask for Dr. John Mickus and tell him that you are my daughter and that you need to write a blog story about him and his project. He put solar PV on the science building, helped to build a greenhouse, and he also ran a solar camp for teachers. He is using several different methods and models at the same time to teach the concept of solar energy.”

No intimidation there. An esteemed professor at a well-respected university was going to receive a phone call from me, a college student and summer intern, regarding the unbelievable things he had been doing to help the environment. The notion of intimidation does not do that conversation justice.

From the moment Dr. Mickus and I swiftly moved passed introductions, I began to realize the grand idea of progress in the arena of environmentalism. Individuals are constantly surfacing who claim that they have single-handedly helped to grow some important cause and that they deserve recognition for their greatness. More often than not we watch these people reap the benefits of such recognition for the rest of their lives. Not that these people do not deserve credit for working toward the common good. What I am implying is that the potential for progress is unending, and it is individuals such as Dr. Mickus who embody true humanitarians in the eyes of Mother Nature. These activists are not satisfied with just one great deed, but demand more.

Dr. Mickus started off by declaring his regret for not reaching his goal of Benedictine installing “the largest solar panel in the world,” because that was his original plan. As we often discover, we can set our sights high, although attaining goals must be gauged while considering the aid of many other entities involved. The results of this professor’s efforts far surpass any expectation that could be placed on such projects. He has succeeded in installing a 1 KW solar PV system on the science building and was instrumental in the construction of a nearby greenhouse.

Dr. Mickus explained his reasoning behind the placement of the solar panels. They were installed at the side entrance next to both the parking lot and the greenhouse site. This allows each person coming into the building from the parking lot to see the brilliance of solar energy through both a photovoltaic system and the untainted power of the sun. The greenhouse demonstrates that the sun can be used to grow plants year-round inside its protective walls. He didn’t want to hide a larger solar array on the roof that might be an end to his project. He could take a lot of pictures and get credit for his efforts, but it might close the door on his work. He chose to try and teach every student who walked by those solar panels and through the door of the college classroom building that solar energy was and is possible in Lisle, Illinois. He wants the solar installation to be the beginning of his work and not the end.

He has also worked with teachers during the above mentioned solar camp and followed up this training by implementing the solar data into the physics curriculum. He explained to me that teaching the students within the science building about solar energy is just as important as the installation of the system itself. And when asked why he decided to take on such a massive set of projects and become the go-to person at Benedictine for solar energy, he simply said he just wanted to demonstrate to others that its time has come.

What struck me the most was Dr. Mickus’ insistence that education should be the beginning and end of these projects. Coming from a family that never stopped reminding me of how crucial it is for me to have an education, I had become somewhat desensitized to this message, considering it was always coming from the mouths of my parents. Witnessing his conviction in the possibility of teaching both young people like myself and older people such as my parents, it is evident that education continues to be the purest way to rally others around causes such as this. What we can all hope for is that one day, solar and other forms of renewable energy will not be considered “causes” at all, but they will represent a way of life for societies across the globe. And such a hope begins and ends with individuals like Dr. Mickus.

Speaking from the perspective of someone who is still soaking up all of the environmental work happening around me, I have discovered an undeniable certainty from working in this field. This type of productivity would not be possible without the unrelenting modesty of such figures like Dr. Mickus, despite my attempt to cover a fraction of the recognition he truly deserves. Many could rightly claim that a single renewable energy project at such a major institution warrants a lifetime of praise, yet those who have truly pioneered this movement insist that we continue to think of new ways to save energy.

After getting a few useful quotes from the professor and explaining a little bit about the work I had been doing, he stopped short and asked me if it were possible to use LED lighting in Benedictine’s museum. He explained that earlier he had been in the museum and the florescent lighting did not seem appropriate in such a setting. His enthusiasm behind this new idea swallowed the rest of our conversation, despite my desire to hear all about his solar energy work. His main concern was moving forward, and he was adamant about me contacting him regarding the possibility of utilizing LED lighting at the museum as soon as I had more information.

While it is cordial that Dr. Mickus dismisses our praise, I would like to officially thank him for all his efforts and the guarantee that we will see much more from this educator and those he has influenced.

My job is to tell the story of why the point people of these projects made commitments to this type of work. I also attempt to uncover the underlying story behind the project itself. What I discovered is the contagious inspiration that arises from this work and that no matter how far one has immersed his or herself in a specific field, there are always new things to learn and more innovative ways to bring about change. Benedictine will indefinitely be a template for other projects and the work of Dr. Mickus will hopefully teach others how to improve the state of the environment. Carrying out such projects in a way that is both inventive and educational is how schools in Illinois can continue to break the mold. It is these heroes of progress who will agitate others into carrying on this invaluable work.

Partners:

• Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation
• Foundation for Environmental Education
• Commonwealth Edison
• NEED

Story submitted by Drs. Robert and Sonia Vogl - Oregon, Illinois

On Saturday, June 30, 2007, the Ogle County Fairgrounds may have become the first in Illinois to have a permanent solar electric system providing some of its power. A small group of committed volunteers including Tony Gerace of Amboy, Bob Piros of Chana, Mark Thoele of Savannah and Bob Vogl of Oregon showed up at 8:30 in the morning to install the system. On hand to greet the group and offer some assistance was Dave Englebrecht, President of the Ogle County Fair Association.

The installation was designed and installed under the direction of Dave and Jared Merrill from Byron who have installed both solar and small wind electric generators during the past few years. Dave provided an overview of the project and quickly got the crew working on installing the nearly one kilowatt system. By 3:00 p.m., the system was producing 650 watts of solar electricity.

What made the project special was that the electricity needed to power the tools used in the installation also came from the sun. A damaged 165 watt panel, which was no longer suitable for use in a solar array served as a portable solar power source. It is mounted on a dolly and charges a sealed gel cell battery attached to the base. An outlet, watt meter, inverter and charge controller mounted on the back of the dolly provide useable alternating current. Once a power tool is plugged into the outlet it is ready for work.

The panels, used Siemens from research park in Texas, were donated by Glen Kizer of The Foundation for Environmental Education. The group coordinates a program which installs one kilowatt solar systems on schools in Illinois, and around the country.

The panels themselves are only half the cost of a system. For this project, Solectria, the manufacturers of inverters, provided an 1800 watt DC to AC inverter at a discounted price. The Ogle County Fair Board made a donation to help offset the cost of the project. The remaining costs were borne by the Illinois Renewable Energy Association. The system could be doubled in size for an additional $7500 as the inverter used in the project has the capacity to process twice as much electricity as is currently being produced. We welcome any additional donations to help defray these costs.

The installation will be a welcomed addition to the Sixth Annual Illinois Renewable Energy and Sustainable Lifestyle Fair. We chose to install it over a month before the event so that the Fairgrounds could reap much of the benefit of the summer’s energy production. The installation will be a highlight of this summer’s energy fair. We plan to have a brief ceremony honoring those who donated equipment, money or time to the project on Saturday at 9:15. We also expect to develop a display explaining how the system works and acknowledging the many contributions to its success.

The system will only provide a small percentage of the electrical needs of the Fairgrounds. Its more significant role will be providing visitors with an example of how solar electricity works and its potential to generate a measure of clean, locally produced electricity. It may also serve to inspire parks, nature centers, fire districts, libraries, governmental bodies and farm operators to include solar and wind energy sources as a part of their renewable energy mix.

Join us in celebrating this small measure of solar energy independence at the Sixth Annual Illinois Renewable Energy and Sustainable Lifestyle Fair at the Ogle County Fairgrounds on August 11 and 12. The event is sponsored by The Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, ComEd and The Rock River Times.

The full program is now posted on our web site illinoisrenew.org

In the summer of 2005, Reagan Middle School in Dixon, Illinois became the largest ground-mounted solar school in the state. Its 51.2 kW system was placed at a school named after President Ronald Reagan - in a town where he lived as a child. This large system shows off the fact that solar can supply a large amount of power, and educate at the same time. Pictured above are: George Reigle, District Architect with Green Associates out of Deerfield and Dekalb, IL; Erica Crescio, Principal of Reagan Middle School, and David Blackburn, Business Manager of Dixon Public Schools

Ironically, some of you may know that President Reagan had solar at the White House and certainly our solar technologies (thermal and photovoltaic) have come a long way in terms of reliability and scale since then. There is an interesting story on solar technologies in the White House here - http://www.solartoday.org/2003/may_june03/solar_wh.htm.

David Blackburn, Business Manager of Dixon Public Schools District 170 explained how the process began. “We were rather ambitious to start.” Early plans called for solar above a parking structure. After many revisions and number crunching they decided on the ground-mount system. It took a lot of collaboration, including board members and staff that were 100% behind going solar. “Now retired principal Woody Watson and board member Tom Lemoine were big supporters of the project.”

Everyone is aware about the environmental benefits of solar, however many still do not know that solar makes sense economically. The Reagan Middle School is on course for an 8-10 year payback on investment. This is made possible by a list of logistical and financial supporters:

• Glen Kizer from the Foundation for Environmental Education
• Rex Buhrmester from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
• Bob Romo from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation
• ComEd
• Spire Solar Chicago
• Green Associates of Deerfield, Illinois

Now that it is successfully up and running, it is all worth it. Blackburn said, “Dixon is proud to be on the front end of a renewable energy solution.”

For those of you that need a summer chill, take a look at these Solar Celebration images from February 2004! And for those of you in warmer climates, yes, that’s what snow looks like on a solar panel.

The lineup of solar panels peering from near the southwest edge of the rooftop of Rockford Lutheran High School is not just another solar setup in town, it’s the symbol of a unique collaboration.

This collaboration includes the high school, an electric utility company, a department of the State of Illinois, an environmental foundation, a community college, two retired professors from Northern Illinois University (NIU), a manufacturer with cutting-edge technology in renewable energy, and a local energy contractor.

The solar panel array provides about 1 kilowatt (kW) of electricity for 18 fluorescent fixtures in the Physics classroom of instructor Trey Fisk. When the sun is blocked by clouds, the supplemental electricity is provided by ComEd.

ComEd initiated the solar PV program, now in its fifth year, as the ComEd Solar Schools initiative. The program was created to raise student awareness of renewable energy resources. ComEd’s solar efforts, including more than 50 solar PV installations in Chicago alone, rank Illinois rank fifth in the U.S. in installed PV capacity.

Bob Lindstrom, Regional Energy Program grant manager for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), provided Principal Donald Kortze with initial consultation and recommendations. Then Bob connected Mr. Kortze with Len Salvig, owner of Hybrid Renewables, Inc. for management and completion of the project. The Rock Valley College, Business and Professional Institute, has supported the DCEO by providing office space and coordination of local efforts in energy efficiency.

The Illinois Clean Energy Foundation (ICECF) provided the $10,000 grant for the project. ICECF is developing a web site that will highlight the real-time generation data of each of the solar power systems in the program. Teachers will be able to use this real-time data in lessons on renewable energy in science, math, physics, and other related disciplines. Drs. Bob and Sonia Vogl of Oregon, Illinois, authored the Solar Energy Education Kit (SEEK) written program that will be used in the Physics class taught by Trey Fisk, Physics Instructor.
Nextek Power Systems developed the highly efficient electric power gateway that takes the sun-generated electricity and pipes it to the fluorescent fixtures in the classroom. The company was recently recognized by the body that sets the standard for dc interconnection with the power grid, called the California Rule 21 Work Group, as the only CEC-approved energy interfacing appliance that does not require a Utility Interconnection Agreement.

Hybrid Renewables, Inc. installed and verified the operation of the system. Hybrid Renewables is an electrical contractor and represents other renewable energy products for wind generators, swimming pool heaters, and SunWize Technologieis, the largest distributor of products for renewable energy in the U.S.

Here is a story from one of our schools in Illinois - Roselle Middle School has a roof mounted 1kW PV system, and is part of the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation solar schools program.

Roselle Middle School District - story submitted by Joel Simburger, 7th grade science teacher.

The introduction of the solar panels to RMS will not only help save money and reduce our carbon footprint, but also open students’ eyes to the alternative energy possibilities available to them. Roselle Middle School students begin their study of energy resources and their impact in 6th grade by viewing the website and calculating how much the school is saving.

The 7th grade science curriculum includes a study of energy resources and their costs, both financially and environmentally. Within this study, students weigh the pros and cons of different energy resources, including solar energy. The classes learn about solar energy using mini-solar panel laboratory kits and by observing data from the solar panel monitoring website.

8th grade students create graphs of the amount of energy the solar panels generate daily. They also create weather logs in science in order to see how weather affects how much energy the solar panels generate.

When I was younger, nice restaurants were set up so that you could not see the kitchen. If you could see someone cooking food, you were in a diner. Diner food was cheaper and so you put up with the fact that you had to watch someone slaving over a hot stove. Then it all changed. At some point, it became a positive feature of the “nice” restaurants to show you the food preparation part of the restaurant. Kitchens were opened up and from most any seat it became very easy to see your food being prepared. Diners are still diners, but today most nice restaurants have open kitchens.

When I was younger, I always wondered what it was like to be in those rooms where grant decisions were made. Many applications come in and only a few are chosen. Who got to make that call and what factors did they use? What did the room look like? How did they decide on a deadline and how did they decide what the application should look like and how many questions would be asked?

In recent years, I have been invited to sit in on many of those “grant decision” meetings. They are not like the open kitchens, but I decided it might be interesting to take a picture of the group that decided what the Illinois Small PV Solar School grant program would look like, what the deadlines would be, how many schools would get grants and how much money would be given to each school. The picture above was taken in Illinois in a suburb of Chicago and the people in the picture are: Bob Romo, Lisa Starks, and Gabriella Martin of Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation and Mary Anne Emmons, PE, and Sharon Hillman and Janet Bieniak and Denise Munoz of Commonwealth Edison. I was there too, but I took the picture.

In the meeting, the group talked about how many schools that they expected to apply for the next round of grants. The deadline is March 30, 2007. Applications are on line at the Illinois Community Foundation Web site: www.IllinoisCleanEnergy.org.

In the first round of grants in 2004-2005, 21 schools received grants for PV installations that ranged from 51 kW at Dixon, Illinois on the Ronald Reagan Middle School to a number of 1 kW installations all over Illinois. In 2006, 21 more schools were selected and they are now getting 1 kW systems. The smaller size enables us to put solar on more schools. In the next round with the March 30, 2007 deadline, there will be up to 30 schools selected. All of the new schools are getting live data collection systems and Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation has also agreed to go back and add live data collection systems to the 2004-2005 schools. So, there will be at least 72 “solar schools” by the end of this year all with live data collection in real time visible by anyone on the new Web site. It is a very positive program for schools and for science and math.

We talked about the new Web site that Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation is creating and data collection systems and ribbon cutting events. Commonwealth Edison is going to encourage schools to apply through links on its Web site. The meeting didn’t last that long, but important decisions were made. Today I prefer restaurants where I can see them making my food and I also enjoyed watching this group of very nice and very smart people agree on a program that will encourage schools to use solar energy to help improve their students science and math skills as well as educate their communities about renewable energy. It made me feel good to be “in the kitchen” and watch them create the next round of solar electricity grants for Illinois schools.