Evanston should look into building a wind farm in Lake Michigan, the city council agreed at its meeting Tuesday night.
In a unanimous vote, the council asked the Office of Sustainability to submit a Request for Information about the possible project. The RFI would gather information and make developers aware of the city’s interest. The wind farm would likely be built seven to nine miles off of the city’s shoreline.
“This could be a source of civic pride,” Ald. Coleen Burrus (9th) said. “We are not looking to others, we’re not looking for other energy sources, we can produce the energy right here in Evanston.”
Members of Citizens for a Greener Evanston have researched the wind farm for about two years and gave a short presentation during the meeting’s section for citizen comment. According to the group’s research, the ideal site for the farm is about seven miles due east from Northwestern.
“The idea of this being directly off Northwestern’s shore instantly makes Northwestern one of the greenest campuses in the world, just by this association with it,” said Nate Kipnis, co-chair of the Renewable Energy Resources Task Force for CGE.
Wind speed in this area reaches 18 mph and, with the 40 turbines suggested by CGE, the wind farm could produce enough energy to sustain 40,000 homes, Kipnis said. There are about 30,000 residences in Evanston.
Kipnis and his co-chair Ellen Galland have already met with Eugene Sunshine, vice president for business and finance at NU, and Daniel Linzer, NU’s provost, to take their temperature on the subject. He said the officials were “receptive” to the idea.
During the meeting, the NU officials asked about possible benefits for NU. Kipnis said he jokingly mentioned adorning the turbines with purple LED lights that could shine after an NU football victory.
Carolyn Collopy, program coordinator for the Office of Sustainability, gave the council an update on Evanston’s goal to reduce the city’s carbon dioxide emission by about 150,000 metric tons by 2012. Despite several initiatives regarding weatherizing homes and increasing recycling efforts, the city has reached only 7 percent of that goal. Collopy said the wind farm would greatly help hitting long-term goals.
“We’ve got a long ways to go,” Collopy said. “There’s just no way we’re going to hit that by doing energy efficiency and recycling measures alone. I think we need to look into renewable energy options.”
Despite the unanimous motion to ask for an RFI, Ald. Judy Fiske (1st) posed a long list of questions regarding the possible endeavor, including concerns about the local wildlife, bird migratory patterns and bureaucratic issues the wind turbines might raise.
“Should we be looking at alternative wind energy? Absolutely,” she said. “Is this the right place to put it? I’m not sure.”
Bill Schwimmer, an Evanston resident who spoke during citizen comment, also expressed doubts about the project.
“Regardless of the merits, this is an artificial intrusion into the last natural environment we have in these parts,” Schwimmer said. “This will certainly lead to more development and more intrusion.”
The council will meet next at 7 p.m. on April 26 at the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.[email protected]
