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Evanston Now
After placing solar panels atop the Robert Crown Community Center last month, the Evanston City Council will consider a resolution Tuesday to do the same at the Evanston Animal Shelter on Oakton Street.
Unlike at Robert Crown, the city itself will own the panels, after a change of plans from the previous intended goal of pursuing a Solar Power Purchase Agreement with an outside operator, as the city did at Robert Crown.
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City staff, in a memo to the City Council, said that “it became clear that an installation at the animal shelter was too small to achieve a favorable … agreement for the city,” recommending the city purchase and install the solar panels itself instead.
The total cost of the project will be $256,061, the memo says, funded through the city’s Capital Improvement Program and 2023 project bonds issued to construct the new animal shelter, which was officially opened in 2024.
Staff wrote that installing the panels would meet the city’s climate goals developed in city plans.
The city estimates roughly $60,000 to $90,000 in incentives for the project in the form of rebates, estimating a cost after solar incentives of about $166,000 to $196,000. About $195,800 remains unspent from the construction of the animal shelter, which the city said would help “offset the cost of the new solar panel installation.”
The city plans to partner with Trane U.S. Inc. on the project. The City Council will still be asked to approve the final stage of the project before the panels are installed after purchasing.
The City Council is set to consider the resolution on Tuesday. The usual Monday meeting is delayed one night because of Memorial Day.
Matthew has covered politics and local government for Evanston Now since 2024. He was previously a freelance reporter for the New York Times. He grew up in Cleveland and has a journalism degree from Boston… More by Matthew Eadie
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