This home has solar photovoltaic, green roof, passive solar design, prairie landscaping....  The first photo shows the pipes coming from the panels to the inverter and meter.  The second and third photos show the green roof, and the edges of the panel near the chimney.

Second Stop - the Camasto house in Naperville with Solar Thermal and Solar Photovoltaic.














Met up with a bike tour participant.

Started the tour at the IBEW-NECA Technical Institute in Alsip at  9:00 am.

Crain's Chicago ranked the Illinois Solar Tour #2 on their top 10 things to do this weekend.  Join the thousands of attendees in Illinois touring homes and business with renewable energy installations, passive solar design, and energy efficiency improvements.

Read the Crain's Top 10 list

Joliet environmentalists hope to cover all of their home-energy needs with solar panels

It's been an exciting week for Bill and Betty Lorch, having equipped themselves for what is believed to be the first solar-powered house in Joliet.

"He's been running in the house every so often saying, 'The meter's going backward! The meter's going backward!'" Betty said.

...The goal is to generate enough power with the 28 solar panels on their house and garage that the Lorches can cover household energy needs through the course of a year.

Or, as Bill Lorch puts it: "I don't owe ComEd nothin' and they don't owe me nothin'. That's what we're shootin' for." (read full article in Chicago Sun Times)


John Caravette (from left) Shawn Clouser
and Rob Carlson (top) of Earth, Wind and
Solar Energy LLC. install solar panels on the
roof of Bill and Betty Lorch's home in Joliet.
(Michael R. Schmidt/Staff Photographer)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (press release) -- Nearly two million jobs were left on the table when the U.S. Senate went on recess this summer without taking action on clean energy and climate legislation, according to an analysis that will be released on Tuesday, September 14. The report is sponsored by Small Business Majority, Main Street Alliance, American Businesses for Clean Energy and We Can Lead.

The report will look at the number of jobs lost in 20 states due to the Senate's inaction. Eleven of the 20 states with 10 percent unemployment or higher lost more than half a million jobs in total, according to the new report. The 20 states are: Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Virginia. (continue)

Western Illinois University's Horn Field Campus has gone "green" thanks to a gift from Western's Green Energy Team.

On Sept. 9, Western's Green Energy Team donated an off-grid, portable, solar energy generator to the Horn Field Campus.

The generator works to collect solar energy during the day, storing that energy, then converting it to electronic power to help power devices such as lights and telephones.

"It's very important to us to donate this generator because our team is a part of the school that helps emphasize how important it is to live a green lifestyle," said Steve Wright, senior communications major and president of the Green Energy Team. (continue)

JERSEYVILLE – The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) today celebrated a groundbreaking ceremony for 32 single-family affordable rental homes which will use solar and wind power to reduce energy bills. The development, known as Lexington Farms Subdivision in Jerseyville, will house qualified working families. An estimated 81 jobs will be created.

IHDA invested more than $2.5 million to build Lexington Farms, providing federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds and federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to finance the development located at Fairgrounds and Cemetery avenues. The federal tax credits, which were a result of a special allocation for counties hit by severe flooding, generated an additional $6.7 million in private equity for the development. On behalf of the administration of Governor Pat Quinn, IHDA has invested federal stimulus funds to jumpstart construction on nearly 2,500 affordable rental homes, creating an estimated 3,000 jobs in Illinois.(continue)

Chicago, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/10/2010 -- MicroLink Devices, Inc. (http://www.mldevices.com), a Niles, IL-based semiconductor manufacturer, has been awarded a $5 million grant from the State of Illinois to build a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant to produce high efficiency, light weight solar cells.

“We are thrilled with, and humbled by, this award,” says MicroLink President and CEO Dr. Noren Pan. “It says a lot about the potential for our technology to contribute to the important role that solar energy must play in the future of the U.S.”

MicroLink’s proprietary epitaxial lift off manufacturing process (ELO) allows their high efficiency solar cells to be more competitive with existing lower efficiency products. (continue)

The "Windy City" lives up to its name as Chicago’s newest parking garage becomes the first to generate it's own energy with spinning vertical wind turbines.

You might generally associate parking garages with the stark cement-colored monotony that most people despise about urban life. Thanks to a new design by the architects of HOK however, parking garages are being viewed in a whole new green light. (more)