To follow up on Monday’s post about the solar-ready condo development at 3045 N Clybourn Ave, I called Chris Campbell, Executive Director of GreenWerks, a Chicago-based green contractor, to get some more information about the cost of installing solar panels on private residences.

GreenWerks has a price calculator on its solar panels Web site that estimates the cost of installing solar panels on a home based on current energy use. The solar panels themselves represent about 60 percent of the total cost, Campbell says, and installation is about 30 percent.

I played with the calculator a little bit, and from what I can tell, Phil Soto’s estimate of $30,000 seems like a plausible up-front cost for installing solar panels on a mid-size condominium — before filing for rebates, that is.

As reader Bob noted, incentives at the federal and state level can take a big bite out of the hefty price tags that come with solar energy. Campbell says that buyers are eligible for for 30-percent federal tax credits on the purchase of solar panels, and until just a few weeks ago, Illinois also offered a 30-percent rebate. However, Campbell says the state rebate program has been temporarily suspended, and the money allocated for solar rebates was recently emptied into the general fund. (Keep that in mind when using the calculator on the GreenWerks site.)

Campbell expects prices to come down in the near future, though. A combination of factors including increased production, greater efficiency and better technology will make solar energy more affordable in coming years, he explains. “I think that tipping point is definitely going to be within the next one to three years.”

Some of the current technologies for photovoltaic (electric) solar panels can only be used from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Campell says, and many won’t generate much energy when there are cloudy skies. However, Campbell says solar thermal (heat and water) systems “have no trouble generating 140 degrees even on these cold winter days.”

Related posts:
• Solar ready at 3045 North Clybourn (Jan. 26)

If you’re like me, you probably just smiled and nodded when we described the slanted windows at Solstice on the Park, a 26-story high-rise planned for Hyde Park. It’s a novel idea, I thought, but my head hurt trying to envision sunlight angles at various times during the year.

Luckily Studio / Gang / Architects, the project’s designer, came to my rescue with this helpful diagram. The idea is to angle the windows to shade living spaces during the summer months and capture sunlight during the winter. The graphic also features what looks like stormwater retention systems and a green roof atop the parking deck.

The marketing team is still hoping to open the sales center by May. Right now they’re conducting private showings, according to Waveland Kendt, of @properties. Prices start in the $500s and top out near $2.5 million.

Senco Properties is so determined to promote conservation at its new Bucktown loft project that it’s putting together a model unit decorated with second-hand accessories.

The EcoLogic Lofts, 2359 N Seeley Ave, will have features like carpet made from recycled water bottles, bamboo floors, ENERGY STAR-qualified appliances and a green roof. Roof-mounted wind turbines will generate enough power to maintain the building’s common areas.

The staff at John Robert Wiltgen Design has taken the green concept one step further by furnishing the EcoLogic model with refurbished and reupholstered furniture found in area thrift stores. Wiltgen even created accent pillows using fabric from vintage designer suits.

The model will open in April at EcoLogic’s sales center, located at 2023 W Fullerton Ave.

The project’s 94 one- and two-bedroom homes range from 690 to 1,335 square feet, with prices starting in the low $200s. Every loft has a balcony, and several second-story units have terraces. Dedicated indoor parking is $30,000; buyers who drive hybrids will get to park in a special reserved area.

FitzGerald Associates Architects designed the seven-story building, and Property Consultants Realty is handling marketing and sales. Deliveries should begin in fall 2009.

“What’s usually missing from these discussions are the huge amounts of waste matter and energy costs that are produced every time a building is torn down vs. a rehab project. So what if the building is “green?” It doesn’t matter much if the net byproduct is negative.”

- Dmac, commenting on a post about Chicago’s green aspects.

Dmac makes a valid point that building new – even if it’s green – sometimes doesn’t measure up versus a sensible rehab.

It’s worth noting that according to Arthur C. Nelson’s 2004 report for The Brookings Institute, about half the existing real estate space in the United States will be rebuilt by 2030. Green building advocates look to this sustained momentum as a catalyst to improve technology and move the entire industry forward – thereby narrowing that energy-cost gap Dmac mentions above.

Mark your calendars: On March 29, civic groups are asking residents to turn off their lights for one hour, from 8 to 9 p.m., as part of a global initiative on climate change.

Organized by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour aims to bring together residents in big cities around the world to send a message about the effects of climate change. Chicago joins San Francisco, Atlanta, Phoenix, Brisbane, Copenhagen, Manila, Melbourne, Sydney, Tel Aviv and Toronto in pledging to go dark on March 29.

As World Wildlife Fund’s flagship city for the United States, Chicago, a leader in environmental initiatives, is encouraging its residents across the region to make the pledge to help fight global warming by voluntarily turning off their lights for 60 minutes. Signature skyscrapers, key landmarks, theater marquees and shops on the Magnificent Mile will voluntarily turn off their lights.

The Chicago effort has the blessing of ComEd, Mayor Daley and several civic and business groups, including the Chicago Association of Realtors and BOMA Chicago.

If all goes according to plan, the city’s famous skyline will go dark (or dim, at least) around 8 p.m. on March 29. With even marginal participation, it’s sure to be quite a show – though photographing the event may be a little tough.

Here’s an item from earlier this month: Popular Science gave Chicago in the number-nine slot in its America’s 50 Greenest Cities feature.

Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Geographic Society’s Green Guide, the magazine evaluated 50 cities in four categories: electricity, transportation, green living and recycling / green perspective.

Portland, Ore., was number one, followed by San Francisco and Boston. Popular Science singled out Chicago for its 12,000 acres of parks and public green space; the city led the Midwest in the rankings, beating out Minneapolis (11) and Milwaukee (22).

Six cities got individual write-ups in the magazine for particularly sustainable urban design elements. Chicago’s (the second item in this slide show) described the cogeneration processes used in some city’s power plants.

In this video, I talk with Paul Sanders and Celeste Karan about Green Armitage, an 8-unit new-construction project at 3018 W Armitage Ave in Palmer Square. The project’s energy-efficiency guarantee generated some discussion when I first mentioned it on YoChicago a couple weeks ago; here, Celeste and Paul describe the program itself, along with a few more details from the development.

Pricing for the luxury units starts in the $390s and tops out in the $420s.

“This is exactly what TIF funds and city incentives should be used for. There’s no question. We’re talking about a blighted area [on] the verge of being redeveloped. I think the city recognized that it was important to invest in high-quality product.”

-G. Benjamin Ranney, a principal with Terra Firma Co., on his firm’s development in East Garfield Park.

Kedzie GreenLife, a 30-unit green development in the works at 3148 W Lake St, was recently approved to receive about $2.5 million in city funds. Look for more on the project in New Homes Magazine’s March 2008 issue.

It’s being billed as the first new high-rise in Hyde Park in more than 30 years – and this spring, buyers will get first crack at Solstice on the Park, the new 26-story tower planned for 5526 – 5540 S Cornell Ave. We spoke with Waveland Kendt, the sales manager with @properties, about the project today; he shared a few specifics, as well as the plan to ramp up marketing in the next couple months.

In the months since we first described Solstice on the Park’s unique green design (angled windows shade living spaces from the summer sun, for example), a few more renderings have been released from Studio / Gang / Architects, the project’s designer. Together they paint a rather impressive view of the project, which is planned for a vacant parking lot in the South Side neighborhood.

According to Kendt, developer Antheus Capital eschewed the one-bedroom units that traditionally form the bread and butter of many high-rise projects. Instead, the smallest unit is a two-bedroom home totaling about 1,500 square feet, and the largest bumps 3,500 square feet. The model, which Kendt expects to be open this spring, will be a 1,900-square foot, three-bedroom unit.

Solstice on the Park will comprise 145 units, and prices start in the low $500s and top out near $2.3 million. The development’s Web site offers only a tantalizing teaser and a registration form – but expect that to get a lot more interesting in the next couple months.

“The fact that there has not been recent development in high-rise living is very exciting for us,” Kendt says. “We really feel that there’s a pent-up demand, and this is going to sell very well.”

At this point, Solstice on the Park will break ground in late fall 2008 and begin delivery in 2010.

Site work has been ongoing since November at Fountain View, 2326 W Giddings Ave, Terra Firma’s 18-unit condo development in the heart of Lincoln Square. The mixed-use project is also registered with the U.S. Green Building Council, the national nonprofit that operates the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system.

Terra Firma constantly monitors the construction process and documents the requisite green building techniques for the LEED certification process, says Brad Leibov, a principal with the firm. Yo spoke with Leibov today to get the latest on the development, which bills itself as the first green mixed-use building in Chicago. When we last checked in, the developer had just finished tearing down the previous existing building on the site.

“We require our contractor to report to us on a regular basis,” says Leibov. “One of [the] goals is to recycle 50 percent of the previous building’s materials.”

Leibov reported today that Terra Firma’s contractor has succeeded in recycling 97 percent of the previous building’s debris – well beyond the nominal number required by the city. In addition, the developer was able to use the underground foundation from the old building to partially support Fountain View’s new underground parking garage.

Fountain View’s two- and three-bedroom units range in size from 1,292 to 1,540 square feet. Prices begin in the $420s and top out near the $550s; heated underground parking begins at $30,000. Prudential Preferred Properties is marketing the units, and Terra Firma expects deliveries to begin in August.