Alternative Energy in Chicago

Solar power is coming to Chicago people! Invenergy, a Chicago wind and solar power company, plans on builing a solar power farm in Illinois. General Electric Co. says that they can demonstrate breakthrough solar power technology with their new thin film solar panels. The solar power farm will use the new panels from General Electric to produce power for Commonweath Edison (announced Dec 16th). They will also use a wind farm located in LaSalle county for power as well. GE said that their new thin fim panels are the most efficient panels on the market in today's society. The company called it, "a huge step toward making more solar available and affordable on a larger scale." Because these panels are so sucessful, GE plans on having a factory that will strickly make these solar panels. It is said that the new solar technology is more efficient by 13% and with each 1% increase in efficiency it inables a 10% cheaper cost. The new GE plant will make enough of these thin film panels, also know as cadmium telluride panels, to power 80,000 homes by the year 2013. The factory will also empoy 400 people in the are which will hopefully help the local economy. Because of this breakthrough, GE will become one of the lead creators of solar panels and will be comepeting against places like First Solar. This shows how involved the city of Chicago is trying to become in the idea of alternative energy, by creating many new solar panels and by using more power from solar energy farms and wind farms.