Spire Installs Solar-Electric System on Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History

Spire Corp. (Bedford, MA) announced that Spire Solar Chicago has successfully installed a solar-electric system on the roof of Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History. The system, which is rated at a peak 49kW of dc energy with maximum sunlight, can deliver 60,000kWh annually, enough electricity to power approximately 10 houses. The Field Museum installation is the largest solar-electric system in Illinois, and one of the largest in the Midwest.

Spire reports that the Field Museum system is part of a multi-year, multi-site program of solar-power installations that Spire is completing in conjunction with the city of Chicago, Commonwealth Edison, and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs.

Roger Little, president and CEO of Spire, commented, “We are pleased to bring green power to Chicago and we expect the number of roof-top solar-electric systems to continue to increase. Spire plans to install as many as 15 more utility-connected solar installations this year in Chicago public schools, museums and commercial buildings. Our Chicago operation is the model of public-private partnership that we are using to demonstrate solar power’s cost-effectiveness to other utilities and municipalities.”