If you are among those who are regular readers of this magazine, then you may already be aware that, aside from my being an avid reader, I also care deeply about the environment and the future of our planet. As such, I also serve on the Village of Skokie’s Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission, a position I have held since 2011. Over the years, I’ve interviewed authors, meteorologists, academics and others about a myriad of issues from changes they’ve observed in the Arctic, to reducing our carbon footprint by rethinking our daily commute, to the nationwide impacts we’re already seeing as a result of climate change and some potential solutions, and much more. In this new series, Sustainability in Focus, I aim to put some of those solutions to climate change into a greater context. First up is my recent conversation with Ania Ocasio, Outreach Coordinator for Joule Community Power, regarding Community Solar. Read on to see what she had to say about the benefits of community solar, why we should embrace renewable energy instead of continuing to rely on fossil fuels, how Community Solar works, and much more — including how homeowners, renters and small business owners in Skokie, Illinois can enroll in that community’s Community Solar program.
Andrew DeCanniere: I am so glad to have this opportunity to speak with you and discuss community solar and its benefits, because it really can be one great way for people to dip their toes into the waters of sustainability, while helping further the environmental sustainability goals and objectives of municipalities.
Ania Ocasio: Absolutely. I think there are a lot of angles to community solar. It’s really exciting because, whether you’re drawn to it for its sustainability benefits, or because of its cost effectiveness and consumer protection elements, there is something for everyone. A lot of municipalities are suggesting community solar because they have their own sustainability goals to meet. For instance, how many residents are getting their electricity from clean, renewable energy sources? It all impacts the long-term goals that municipalities set. I also think it’s really nice to do this as a community, rather than as individual consumers. There are really nice protections, and a lot of conversations, too. Personally, I’m really excited about the consumer protection aspect — especially in this age of increasing utility costs and the AI boom.
DeCanniere: It seems to me that the best place to begin is the beginning, as they say. So, I guess my first question to you would be why consumers should choose renewable energy. Personally, I know that I feel there is a strong case to make the switch. However, there are those who, for instance, may view this in terms of resource scarcity. To them it’s like “Why switch away from fossil fuels when there’s more where that came from?” In reality, it’s about so very much more than resource scarcity alone. It truly is about our responsibility to the planet, and about the future we want for ourselves and those who come after us.
Ocasio: In addition, there have been many pieces of legislation that have been passed because they bring a lot of health and economic benefits as well, alongside the environmental ones. In terms of the environment, less burning of fossil fuels equals less pollution. Some statistics include, in Illinois, the benefits of the Clean Air Act will minimize over 100,000 lost workdays — be it from asthma attacks or hospital visits [or the like]. So, there are all of these benefits of adopting clean energy. Also, embracing renewables is going to create so many new jobs. It already has. There is a whole new, emerging field that has the support of many states.
DeCanniere: Right. And I think it’s great that you mention the health benefits as well, alongside the environmental and economic ones. When you stop to think about it, the health benefits also really do translate to economic benefits as well. Personally, I think the environmental and health benefits are the most crucial, but the health benefits can also translate back into economic benefits as well. For one thing, there is the potential reduction in healthcare costs.
Ocasio: Exactly. I think that sustainability has been framed in this very specific way. You know, you have to be from a certain political party. In reality, it’s really just about making sure people stay healthy, making sure that people’s finances aren’t tied up in monopolies that can just change. We all see how much utility costs can fluctuate. Even gas prices fluctuate. So, it really is a way of strengthening and diversifying the economy as well.
DeCanniere: And I think that this flies in the face of this all too often repeated fallacy that you have to choose between the economy and the environment. Operating in environmentally sustainable ways can, in fact, lead to a healthier planet, healthier people, and simultaneously create additional economic opportunities that weren’t there previously.
Ocasio: I think that, if anything, more and more people are coming to this realization that there is no economic growth or business growth without investing in and supporting sustainability efforts. Essentially, I think that there are many different reasons to become more environmentally sustainable. A really big one is that our weather is becoming really intense. I think that businesses are recognizing that we have to be able to ensure employees are staying healthy, that resources are still going to be attainable. We’re not going to be working in a vacuum here. A lot of businesses are integrating sustainability in this way.
DeCanniere: It is nice to see that more people do seem to be recognizing that climate change is real, is affecting us now — not someday down the road, but today — and that it is being driven by human activity, and we need to do something about it now. We need to engage in practical solutions. As we know, weather and climate are two different things. To try and put it as succinctly as possible, weather is what is happening outside right now. Climate, on the other hand, is the larger trend over time. While we obviously cannot point to a particular storm and say “Climate change created that storm,” it is arguable that many — if not most — events are, as you say, being intensified by climate change. It is also worth noting, given our discussion of business, that those events often do drive costs higher. Those costs then often get passed along to businesses, and many times will be passed along to consumers. So, the effects will be felt — and, in fact, are already being felt — by all of us. That is true whether we’re talking about a storm coming through a community and doing physical damage to the community itself, or whether we’re talking about our pocketbooks, or perhaps even both.
While this program is all about solar power, I should also note that there are other renewable sources of power that may be ideal for communities around the country. It all depends upon where you are, but I do think that there is something suited to pretty much everyone. The good news is that whichever of these options a community chooses, they are all clean, as opposed to continuing to rely upon the burning of fossil fuels. When it comes to solar, specifically, there are at least a couple of options that could be readily available. One of these is for a home or business owner to install rooftop solar panels. The other is community solar. Which of these is right for a particular individual or business is obviously dependent on a number of factors.
Ocasio: Exactly. There are many options when it comes to renewable energy. One is, as you mentioned, on-site solar. It’s a fantastic option. A lot of people have been doing it. It’s always nice to see. However, I also think it comes with a lot of considerations — which can include maintenance, installation fees, and aesthetics.
So, I do think community solar is a fantastic way to engage without these really intense commitments that can sometimes come with your own management of your own on-site solar. With community solar, it is open to homeowners or renters. You don’t have to own your space. It can be a good option if, for instance, you would want on-site solar but you don’t have a good roof. Whatever your particular issue may be, it’s open to anyone who doesn’t already have on-site solar. It’s a fantastic program, because it brings a lot of the benefits of rooftop solar without that same commitment. You still get the financial benefit. You are able to support the clean energy industry. So, you still get to be a part of this exciting movement, and it is designed with consumer protection in mind.
DeCanniere: Right. Not everyone is able to install rooftop solar panels. Renters, as you mention, are one great example. Then, of course, someone may own a property but their roof may not be ideal. Therefore, it is wonderful to have this kind of practical alternative. I was also wondering if you could get into how community solar supports the green energy industry, as well as the whole issue of how Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) and how all of that works.
Ocasio: Right. So, there’s a solar farm that, oftentimes, isn’t far from your residence. So, it’s not as though it’s in a different part of the country. It’s pretty close by, so it is not this abstract thing. Essentially, the way it works is that once you join a community solar farm, a portion is designated to meet your energy needs. The community solar farm manager does this in a very specific way. Oftentimes, they’ll ask for an invoice or ID number, which lets them communicate with the utility provider, so that they can get what they call a 12 month estimate of your energy usage. From there, they will calculate how much to designate to meet your needs. So, with community solar farms — depending on how much energy is produced by your panel — that energy gets translated into credits, which are then automatically applied to your bill. You still have the same utility provider. You’ll always have the electricity you need. At the same time, you are now also benefitting from these automatic discounts on your utility bill, just for being part of community solar.
Unfortunately, we are seeing an energy crisis — which is essentially an affordability crisis — as time goes on. This is due to many things. There’s an increase in electricity usage, with so many data centers having been built worldwide in 2025 alone. Each of these data centers has an enormous need for electricity, and they are drawing energy from the exact same power grid as independent consumers. It’s a very simple question of supply-and-demand. These data centers need a lot more of that energy, and there’s a strain on the supply. What happens is that we see this increase in utility prices.We can only expect for that to continue, with the rate of energy usage being what it is. Community solar is a way of protecting yourself from those very extreme price jumps, and also of supporting the production of diversified energy on the grid. It really is just a way of protecting yourself and, for getting your energy from solar farms, you get a certain percentage off of your electric bill.
When it comes to Skokie, specifically, there is the Village’s Community Solar program, and the Village of Skokie is working with Nexamp, a Village-vetted and endorsed provider. Through Nexamp, homeowners, renters and small business owners can gain all of the benefits through the solar farm structure that has just been described. This is huge when energy prices are increasing, and we only expect them to keep on increasing. Additionally, it is a nice alternative to having to do all of this research yourself. Municipalities are taking it into their own hands to vet these programs in order to make sure they can bring their communities the benefits that they promise.
DeCanniere: Absolutely. I think that there is a huge advantage to a municipality doing that homework for its residents and business owners. I think that can offer them significant peace of mind. If you were to try and figure it out on your own, you may not know exactly what you are getting into when you sign on that dotted line. Done this way, through a municipality, you are removing that sort of uncertainty. And, speaking of the Skokie-specific part of things, it seems as though signing up is a pretty easy process.
Ocasio: It is. You can start the process simply by logging onto this website. There also are a lot of resources at the Village level, and there is a lot of ongoing community outreach as well.
DeCanniere: I’m also so glad that you touch upon how energy prices are increasing considerably and how it’s related to the AI boom. Not to say that it is all down to one particular cause, but it definitely does seem that one extremely significant part of the puzzle can be said to be the considerable uptick in all of these data centers that we’re seeing across the country, and the resulting increase in demand in electricity. In fact, I was watching BBC News a few months ago, and there was a segment about just that. I also looked it up again more recently, and a recent report from the International Energy Agency found that global data centers are expected to consume more energy than Japan by 2030.
Ocasio: It’s astounding and it’s just a reality that is a part of all of this increasing tech infrastructure. I don’t think that a lot of people even have the choice as far as whether to opt into this or not. A lot of these decisions to build these data centers are coming from private investors, and they don’t really have the consumer in mind. However, there still are things we can do to protect ourselves from increasing utility costs.
DeCanniere: It also goes on to say that energy use is projected to reach approximately 945 TWh (terawatt hours) by 2030, which is more than double from 2024. That’s a substantial amount.
Ocasio: It is a substantial amount. It’s a rapid expansion.
DeCanniere: I feel as though we’re in an age when hyperbole can be somewhat routine. It can feel as though everything is referred to as being “unprecedented.” However, this really is unprecedented exponential growth that we’re talking about here.
Ocasio: Exactly. You know, it’s easy to sometimes blow things out of proportion, but these are real, concrete numbers we’re talking about, and this is just the reality that we’re going to face in the next five years or so. So, it’s astounding, but there are things we can do. I think it’s amazing to see these community lead programs that have people in mind. People often don’t have the time to try to band together and address these giant data centers by themselves. There are so many considerations with the utility industry as a whole. That said, you don’t have to be an environmental activist, you don’t have to have rooftop solar. There still are ways you can be protected from these increasing costs. The value of the Community Solar program only increases as the effects of these data centers become apparent.
DeCanniere: Right. Obviously, this is more specifically focused on solar and electricity consumption, but I think that there definitely are a lot of considerations when it comes to data centers that people haven’t thought about. Water and air quality can also be impacted by them. They use significant amounts of water, and there obviously are emissions from them as well, as these are not zero-emission facilities. Then, of course, you can also have noise pollution, which can also be a significant issue for communities in which they are constructed. Personally, I do hope that if these continue to be constructed in communities, that they will begin to be built in ways that are eco-friendly and community-friendly. If these data centers are to be a part of our future, I would love to see that start happening.
For additional information regarding Skokie’s Community Solar program, including information on all of the options that are available to you, and who is eligible to enroll in the program, please visit the Village’s Community Solar page. You can also check out the Frequently Asked Questions section for more information, or direct any additional questions you may have to the Nexamp email address or telephone number listed on the Community Solar webpage.
To enroll in Skokie Community Solar with Nexamp, please visit this website.
Sources:
Josie Stewart, B. T., Darrell M. West. The Future of Data Centers. Brookings Institute. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-future-of-data-centers/
Health Benefits of the Illinois Future Energy Jobs Act. NDRC. https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/health-benefits-illinois-future-energy-jobs-act-report.pdf p.1.
Andrew D. DeCanniere writes (primarily) about books and environmental sustainability. You can also find him on Instagram and Threads @adecanniere.
