Wheaton parks OK solar panels at community center

A Wheaton community center will soon have solar energy panels, more than 20 years after the park district first considered installing them.

Wheaton Park District officials this week approved spending $221,000 to install the panels and say they will eventually pay for themselves in energy costs.

After a grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation is applied, the park district will be on the hook for roughly $88,000, according to Executive Director Mike Benard.

Arizona-based Phoenix Solar will do the work, and Benard said the work should be complete by the end of the year.

Benard said that, with an assumed 5 percent increase in energy costs per year, the panels at the community center, 1777 S. Blanchard St., will break even within 13 years. The panels have a 25-year life span and that means eventual savings in utility costs, Benard said.

Board President Ray Morrill said the idea had actually been first suggested when the community center was built in roughly 1990.

“(Solar energy) was too new of a concept at the time,” he said. “Now, its day has come.”

The park district first sought bids in June and seven companies submitted proposals. The Phoenix Solar proposal was the lowest bidder. Officials say this project will not disrupt any daily operations at the community center.

Benard said the park district plans to also use the opportunity to teach the community about solar energy.

“We, as a conservationist agency, believe we should be taking the lead in advocating for cleaner energy,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to educate the public as well.”

Benard said he hoped the community center project leads to further exploration of installing solar energy panels throughout the district. However, he stressed that the ultimate decision is out of his hands.

“From a personal hope standpoint, yes,” he said. “But it’s up to the will of the board.”