A Sunny Spot in Kane County

If you have driven by the Kane County Judicial Center at the corner of Peck and Bricher Roads and wondered what was going on behind the main courthouse, here’s an update.

As part of Kane County’s Green Initiative Program, board members in September 2021 approved the installation of a 2-megawatt solar field on the Judicial Center property.

According to Ivy Klee, Kane County’s Resource Management Coordinator, foundation posts that will hold the solar panels are in the ground, electrical work has been done , blankets have been put in place to cover the ground to prevent soil erosion until grass can grow again and stakes to hold the upgraded fencing around the solar field are in place.

Klee told the Kane County Energy and Environmental Committee that the solar panels could be in place as early as the end of this year or early 2023. While there is no firm completion date for the solar field, the firm hired for construction of the project will be working throughout the winter.

It’s estimated the solar field project will generate an annual energy saving of $200,000. In addition to the cost savings generated by the project, it will reduce carbon emissions by over 145.3 million pounds over the next 25 years.

According to the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalency Calculator, that is equivalent to eliminating over 14,344 passenger cars or 7.4 million gallons of gasoline.