When Evanston approved its 2018 Climate Action and Resilience Plan seeking to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, it sparked a series of environmentally focused investments and legislation.
Councilmember Jonathan Nieuwsma, who regularly advocates for environmentally-friendly referrals in City Council, told Pioneer Press about key factors that will influence Evanston’s 2023 environmental initiatives.
Nieuwsma said he wants to bring solar panels to Evanston buildings, saying this would expand upon some of the initiatives the city has already accomplished, and hopes this will push the city and its residents toward investing in solar panels. He is currently working getting panels installed at the Robert Crown Community Center.
“I’m looking at Robert Crown as the pilot project for getting solar on city buildings under an arrangement that would not cost the city any money upfront with no capital expense while still getting some ongoing savings and operational expenses,” Nieuwsma said.
Some details still need to be ironed out, but this would be possible by arranging a power purchase agreement with a solar energy provider. The energy provider would own, operate and sell the energy collected at the Evanston building. In exchange, Evanston would receive a discounted rate for the energy produced at the site.
“It gives us some ongoing operational expense savings, but not as significant as if we owned the system ourselves and got the electricity for free,” Nieuwsma said. “We’d be getting it for a discount rather than free.”
Nieuwsma said residents should participate in environmental conversations during early 2023 goal setting. City Council has yet to finalize its 2023 goals and Nieuwsma said its members like to collaborate with residents and city staff to ensure concerns are addressed in an attainable way.
This has previously been a challenge, Nieuwsma said, as residents often want progress to be made faster than possible as the city often does not have the resources to tackle them all in one sitting.
Nieuwsma said he is excited for the upcoming year considering the newly-funded Climate Action Fund and new sustainability staff positions. Something he said he’d like to explore is generating revenue sources to fund environmentally-friendly projects.
Another environmentally-focused referral going before City Council in early 2023 is Councilmember Devon Reid’s single-use bag tax. The tax passed the Human Services Committee and is expected to reach City Council in January, but Niewsma said he is hesitant the 15-cent tax, which is more than double Chicago’s seven-cent tax, will be approved as currently written.
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Nieuwsma said residents can get involved by attending and participating in Environmental Board meetings, of which he is the City Council representative.
“It’s a fairly informal group so it’s not quite as structured and formal as a City Council meeting,” he said. “There’s more interaction with non-board members if folks are in the room who have opinions and good ideas.”
Residents can also explore Evanston’s environmental projects by perusing the Evanston Eco-Progress Map, which was created by Citizens’ Greener Evanston, a volunteer group working to make the city more environmentally friendly through collaboration with city officials, local businesses, residents and others. The map shows all types of environmentally-friendly projects ranging from private gardens and locally crafted booze to leadership in energy and environmental design, otherwise known as LEED, certified buildings.
Corey Schmidt is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.