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In the 18 months since 932 solar panels were installed on the roof of Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep in Waukegan, the school has reduced its electricity costs by more than $100,000.
Cristo Rey President Preston Kendall said the school has saved $94,000 a year since the panels were placed on the roof and became operational in September 2024. A one-time big box retail store, the building has expansive roof space and a far bigger parking lot than it needs.
Kendall said the purpose of the solar array goes beyond economic benefits. There is a screen in the school lobby that shows not only money saved, but the beneficial impact on the environment.
“We have quite a lot of roof space, and we’ve been dreaming about how we can reduce our carbon footprint and become good stewards of the environment for the Waukegan community,” he said.
Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep’s embrace of solar energy took time to negotiate and currently enables it to use money once spent on electricity to further its educational mission of helping teens from under-resourced families get a college education.
Currently supplying 40% of the school’s electric needs, Kendall said it is spending $94,000 a year less than it did with ComEd, which still provides the balance of the school’s electricity.
While Cristo Rey is the beneficiary of the electricity generated by the sun, the array is operated by DeWan Solar, which funded the project built by Verde Solutions. The school pays DeWan just under 2 cents per kilowatt hour and more than 13 cents per kilowatt hour for the balance to ComEd.
“The panels generate 500,000 kilowatts a year,” Kendall said. “It is recorded on a (separate) meter in our building. We have a different meter for ComEd.”
Though the financial savings enable Cristo Rey to redirect the money to educating high school students, Kendall said the benefits do more. Less carbon dioxide is being released into the air around Waukegan, he said.
“We’re setting an example for the school and greater Waukegan community on the benefits of clean energy,” Kendall said. “Part of our mission is helping Waukegan have a brighter and cleaner future than it had in its past,” he added, referring to the city’s five Superfund sites resulting from its industrial past.
Jonathon Sadowski is a representative of Solar Powers Illinois, which deals with clean energy projects around the state. He is familiar with the Cristo Rey project and said the amount of carbon dioxide kept out of the atmosphere is the equivalent of 2,600 gas-powered automobiles taken off the road over 25 years, or 28.4 million miles of travel.
Christopher Gersch, the founder and CEO of Verde Solutions, which installed the solar panels, said his company has done similar work, both locally and nationwide. There is an economic cost to coal or oil fuel, but not solar.
“More communities should be taking advantage of the only free fuel we get every day — the sun — especially as electricity costs keep climbing,” Gersch said in an email.
Bringing the solar array from an idea percolating around Cristo Rey to reality took time. Kendall said the roof space was there, but funding was necessary. The school received a grant from the Dewan Foundation, of which Dewan Solar is a part. Verde did the installation, and it went live in September 2024.
When the cost of the grant and construction is recouped in seven years from the time of completion, Kendall said the school has an option to purchase the array.
Kendall said the school’s expansive parking lot could potentially provide a location for more solar panels. Carports are also a possibility.
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