By Francesca Mathewes for Reasons to be Cheerful.
Broadcast version by Mark Richardson for Illinois News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News Service Collaboration

Take a stroll around Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood on a sun-filled spring afternoon and it’s pretty much guaranteed you’ll come across Romanesque-style greystones, classic brick three-flats and the sound of children deep in an after-school game of kickball echoing from the back alleys. What you might not be expecting is the brightly-colored mural emerging out of a vast, vacant lot along South Michigan Avenue — and, more significantly, the massive electrical battery that lies behind that painted cinder block wall.

That battery is but one part of the Bronzeville Community Microgrid, which combines rooftop solar, natural gas-fired generators and batteries to produce and store energy at a local level. Once fully operational, it will, in effect, render the entire neighborhood “energy independent,” giving it the ability to disconnect from and reconnect to Chicago’s citywide grid at will.

This will earn it the accolade of becoming the country’s first neighborhood-scale microgrid, (although its founders, Commonwealth Edison, or ComEd, point out that there could be other initiatives in the works of which they are unaware), with energy experts suggesting it could serve as a model for utilities and communities across the U.S.

Earlier this year, the project, which is funded in part by a $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, passed efficacy tests demonstrating that the basic design of the system works, although it still faces a number of engineering and permitting hurdles. Once those have been cleared, the microgrid will be able to power more than 1,000 homes, businesses and public institutions such as hospitals.

This kind of self-sufficiency will likely prove increasingly vital. Like many cities, Chicago’s first electrical grid began taking shape well over a century ago. These grids have become increasingly rickety as they age, and climate change is only exacerbating their deterioration. Last year, millions in the U.S. faced power outages amid heat waves, hurricanes and winter storms. 

To mitigate this, ComEd has sought to improve electric grids throughout the region over the last 10 years, including through the development of the Bronzeville microgrid. This has happened alongside more recent investments in national energy infrastructure, such as the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, signed into law last winter, which includes $65 billion for electric and grid infrastructure — the largest such investment in the country’s history. 

As part of the investments in the nation’s energy systems, microgrids are increasingly being recognized for their ability to create energy security at the community scale. Their value proved critical in northern California in 2019 when 13,000 people sought refuge — and functioning electricity — at a microgrid-powered casino owned by the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe as wildfires led to blackouts across the region. 

Bronzeville’s neighborhood microgrid offers more than energy resiliency, however — it has also become a blueprint for reducing communities’ contribution to climate change. This is due to the fact that the system gives its operators the ability, at scale, to introduce more renewables into its energy mix while reducing “line loss,” the electricity lost as it travels across power lines.

“Some estimates have said we lose up to 50 percent of electricity production through line loss,” says Yami Newell, a Bronzeville resident and the associate director of community projects at Elevate, a nonprofit that focuses on equitable solutions to community climate change issues. “So the shorter you can make the distance between where energy is generated and where it has to be delivered, the more significantly you reduce the problem.”

Getting connected 

A key aspect of the Bronzeville microgrid that could multiply its impact is its connection to an existing microgrid in the neighborhood, housed at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). Previously, the IIT grid only serviced the surrounding campus. By connecting it to Bronzeville’s, ComEd is able to expand the reach of the grid to the entire area.

The “clustering” effect created by connecting the two microgrids allows them to share energy. So, if one has generated more electricity than it requires at that point in time and the other doesn’t have enough, then the one with excess can transfer that power to the other, keeping all customers in service without needing to tap into the less efficient citywide grid.

As no microgrid has ever been built on this scale in the U.S., getting to this point hasn’t been without challenges. In addition to significant delays due to engineering issues and the City of Chicago’s arduous permitting process, ComEd initially struggled to win the acceptance of the wider community.

Reasons for the latter are linked in part to the disinvestment and financial redlining the neighborhood has faced for the last 70 years. More recently, the community has seen an increase in investment by commercial and real estate developers. While celebrated by some, for many others this represents a story unfolding in cities across the country — one where shiny new developments and amenities are superimposed on communities without buy-in from the people who have been there the longest. 

In response, ComEd has been working with the community, including an advisory board of local leaders and residents, to help educate people about the purpose of the initiative and ensure it meets the needs of local residents.

One outcome of this collaboration was ComEd’s integration of local history and arts into the installation of the grid by commissioning a mural to be painted onto the sides of its battery box. The mural features the South Side Community Arts Center, located nearby the battery storage site, as well as prominent Black leaders from the neighborhood including journalist Ida B. Wells and inventor Lewis Latimer.

This addressed concerns that the battery storage site, located in the middle of a residential block, created an overly industrial-looking eyesore and disrupted the historic nature of the surrounding area. 

“That’s where the emphasis of the mural came into play — to improve the aesthetics of the battery energy storage site, but also, more importantly, to draw attention to the community,” says Cory Foster, the administrator of ComEd’s diversity enrichment program and external affairs manager.

In addition to gaining buy-in, Newell points out that initiatives like the Bronzeville Community Microgrid have the potential to create direct opportunities for local residents.

“When it comes to the jobs that exist to maintain and to build out all sorts of infrastructure around these kinds of projects, the goal is … prioritizing folks who are from those communities,” she says. “As we see more projects like this come online, including renewable projects, who’s going to fill those jobs? Will the people that are working there look like the people who live there? I think Bronzeville gives us an opportunity to say, yes, we can do that.”

Like other urban areas in Chicago and across the country, Bronzeville is dealing with a multitude of community issues, including public safety and population loss, in addition to more recent concerns around public health and job loss arising out of the pandemic. 

But local Alderman Pat Dowell sees the neighborhood microgrid as a step forward in establishing forward-thinking energy solutions and making sustainability a political priority. 

Already forthcoming in Bronzeville are new permits that will allow ComEd to install electric charging stations along major thoroughfares, which Dowell hopes will increase the amount of electric vehicles in the area. 

“We’re being forward thinking about how we can adapt to the changes that we see coming,” she says.

A huge offshore wind project is forging ahead off Humboldt Bay in Northern California - and Saturday, elected officials will tour the deepwater port in Eureka. The port will be expanded to deploy commercial offshore wind turbines - and later, to transmit power to the grid.

Benjamin Collings, offshore wind advisor to the nonprofit Elected Officials to Protect America, which organized the tour, urged people to be patient.

"So, we just want to encourage people to stay the course and not have any delays," he explained. "Because it could be a 10- or 15-year timeline for some of these projects, and it's so critical that we do everything possible to mitigate climate change."

President Donald Trump's executive order halting future leases for offshore wind was signed after this project was already federally permitted with leases. The "Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal Project" is in the design phase, with plans to build access roads, utilities, and a wharf. A bill in Sacramento would add offshore wind ports to California's five-year infrastructure plan.

Mario Fernandez, Eureka City Council Member, says this huge project will bring good-paying jobs, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and help the state meet its clean energy goals.

"Just to have that type of workforce and dedication to something of that magnitude for the betterment of our environment would be very beneficial, not just for our region, but for the State of California overall," he said.

Natalie Arroyo, Humboldt County Supervisor, says she supports the project to repurpose an industrial area to bring in clean power - but stresses it must be done in consultation with local groups.

"As this goes forward, we certainly need to keep in mind the fisheries and aquaculture sector, the concerns of Tribes and the concerns of residents who live very close to where the port development will happen," she explained.

A 2021 report by Environment California found that offshore wind has the potential to generate more than 1.5 times the total amount of electricity used in the state as of 2019.

Iowa is the nation's leader in wind energy production but one of the biggest factors in pursuing alternative energy now hangs in the balance.

More than half of Iowa's electricity comes from wind power. The Iowa Environmental Council estimates the state saves at least $500 million a year by using wind. Congress is considering repealing the technology-neutral electricity tax credit which puts incentives to use green fuel in danger.

Dan O'Brien, senior modeling analyst at the think tank Energy Innovation, said a reduction in wind power would hurt not just households but Iowa farmers, too.

"In the Midwest, over 90% of wind turbines are sited on crop land because farmers use these
renewables, as often called drought proof cash crops," O'Brien explained. "They bring in money for farmers, even outside of harvest season when it doesn't rain enough, when the cost of labor goes up."

One report said repealing the energy tax credits would increase Iowans' household energy prices by as much as 3% as soon as next year, which could translate into an average annual hike of at least $460 over a decade.

National Economic Research Associates said energy prices are already projected to rise 7% this year, the result of climate change, an overreliance on fossil fuels and rising transmission costs. O'Brien stressed anti-alternative energy legislation would send them still higher.

"If you don't have sources like solar batteries, wind on the grid that can push down electricity prices and that are supported by incentives, like the tax credits, you're going to see business costs go up," O'Brien contended.

Nationwide, overall energy costs increased 22% between 2018 and 2023. The Trump administration said it is trying to reign in federal spending.

Groups in Pennsylvania are asking Congress to preserve federal clean-energy tax incentives.

Concerned about the possible repeal of 30% energy tax credits that have supported projects across the state, they gathered at a local charter school to tout its solar-panel installation as an example.

Andrew Reagan, president of the group Clean Energy for America, said there is bipartisan support for the tax credit. He said it directly benefits southeastern Pennsylvania residents, who are investing in solar and other forms of clean energy to save on energy bills while reducing air pollution.

"Folks are saving money," he said. "They're becoming more energy independent, and at a time of skyrocketing energy prices, it's never been more important to have that flexibility to both lower your energy bill as well as make some of these projects more self-sufficient."

One recent study predicted that repealing the tax incentives could raise residential electric rates by an average of $83 a year and eliminate close to four million jobs.

Reagan said now is the time for Pennsylvanians to let their representatives know how they feel.

The solar installation at ASPIRA Bilingual Cyber Charter School was done by the Bucks County company Exact Solar last year, and is one of many that have been supported by tax incentives.

Daniel Pompile, the school's director of culinary arts, environmental education and food services, said it offers a culinary arts program, and its greenhouse project is a way to provide fresh, organic produce and educate kids on where food comes from.

"It also allowed us to plant the seed about green initiatives and lowering carbon footprints," he said, "and the kids are learning about the world in the process - about the environment where their food comes from, agriculture - and they're doing it in a fun, experiential kind of way."

Michael Lehane, sales manager for Exact Solar, said it installed a ground array and off-grid solar system for the school greenhouse, and is working on community solar projects as well.

"We're doing more straightforward projects, where we're installing solar on homes and businesses that are providing the electricity that they would normally have to get from the utility," he said. "And the economics of it are such that the cost of energy is cheaper, no matter which way you go."

He said the upfront cost can be a challenge, which is where incentives come into play. But uncertainty about whether the credits will stay in place is causing people to hold back on making the investment.


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