Illinois just opened a massive community solar project in an area where residents have faced a history of environmental harm
Located on the rooftop of an industrial building in Melrose Park, a new 1.62 megawatt community solar project just opened in Illinois thanks to the state’s Illinois Shines program, which prioritizes bringing the benefits of solar to “communities that have historically shouldered the burden of pollution.”
This new project is located in an Illinois Environmental Justice Community, areas where residents have faced a disproportionate burden of environmental harm due to heavy industry activity, air and water pollution, or an underinvestment in infrastructure.
The project also creates local jobs during both construction and ongoing maintenance, helps strengthen the state’s energy grid, and receives incentives for using existing rooftop space rather than undeveloped land.
Why is this good news? Communities that have long suffered the brunt of environmental injustice are often also the last to see the benefits of clean energy solutions like solar. This not only reverses that trend, it puts what would be wasted space atop massive industrial buildings to good use.
New Jersey reduced levels of ‘forever chemicals’ in its drinking water by 55%
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 176 million people across the U.S. have been exposed to PFAS in their drinking water. PFAS are long-lasting chemicals that are linked to adverse health effects like cancer, but the federal government only started regulating the amount of PFAS in drinking water two years ago.
Fortunately, New Jersey had the foresight to create its own regulations much earlier. In 2018, New Jersey became the first state to adopt its own drinking water standards for PFAS.
And thanks to new data from researchers at Rutgers University, the state’s early adoption of anti-PFAS measures paid off. In the past eight years, levels of the regulated chemicals in its drinking water declined by as much as 55%.
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