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Two years after the Evanston Township High School District 202 Board of Education approved a “Green New Deal for ETHS,” the district plans to install solar panels.
ETHS approved a contract with technology company Honeywell in September, months after Honeywell representative John Rocco told district officials that installing solar panels could save the school about $600,000 per year.
In February, Rocco suggested ETHS take out a loan from Honeywell to finance the changes, which will cost the district about $10.6 million. District 202 will use its energy savings over the course of 20 years to repay the loan, resulting in a cost-neutral retrofit.
ETHS parent Aswin Van Den Berg said there’s “no excuse” for not switching to solar panels, calling on the rest of the country to prioritize sustainable energy. 
“The U.S. should invest more in them, or at least promote their development,” Van Den Berg said.
Schools in the U.S. have rapidly transitioned to solar energy, according to an August report by Generation180, a clean energy nonprofit. 
In the last decade, the number of K-12 schools using solar power doubled from 5,450 to 10,800, with school districts owning only 26% of these solar energy systems, according to Generation180’s report. Most are owned by third parties — including Honeywell — that make power purchase agreements with school districts.
Aswin’s daughter, ETHS senior Grace Van Den Berg, said she worked to have solar panels installed on the school’s latest Geometry in Construction house. She helped raise more than $4,000 for the panels through an April “Running on Sunshine” fundraiser at ETHS. 
“If this effort is going to help the school produce less emissions and be better for the environment, then I would support it,” she said. 
The “Green New Deal for ETHS” aims to promote sustainability by conserving water and reducing waste and energy consumption. The policy calls for eliminating 100% of the school’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. 
The school has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 13.9% since the deal was finalized in 2024, according to a September report by District 202 Board Student Representative Olin Wilson-Thomas published in the Evanston RoundTable. The school is ahead of its interim goal of reducing emissions by 45% by 2030, Wilson-Thomas wrote. 
The solar panels, along with other Honeywell-sponsored updates, are projected to cut ETHS’ annual electricity use by 46.9% and save about $360,000 per year, according to a Sept. 14 memo from District 202 Chief Financial Officer Kendra Williams. 
ETHS parent Julie Windsor Mitchell said she supports the budget-neutral clean energy plan.
Still, she said she was unaware of the school’s plan to install the panels despite being “pretty tapped in.” Windsor Mitchell said she believes many parents remain unaware of the plan. 
“I can’t say for sure, but nobody I know has been talking about it,” Windsor Mitchell said. 
ETHS is not the only Illinois school partnering with Honeywell to install solar panels. Rocco also worked with school officials at Downers Grove, Community High School District 99 and Hinsdale Township High School District 86.
ETHS parent Mike Slater also supports the panels, adding that he hopes no “snafus” prevent the school from transitioning to solar power. 
“It’s what we need to do to stay energy secure for the future,” Slater said.  
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Related Stories: 
— Climate Action Accelerator promotes sustainability projects at ETHS 
— ETHS board passes sustainability policy 
— Evanston aims to make more public buildings ‘solar-ready’

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