Lincolnwood reviews strategic energy plan recommending immediate efficiency measures and 500 kW of municipal solar

The Village of Lincolnwood Committee of the Whole on March 3 heard a presentation on a strategic energy plan prepared for the village as part of an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency conservation block grant. The plan, developed by Slipstream, summarizes facility energy baselines, on-site assessments and community engagement and offers immediate actions and longer-term recommendations to reduce municipal energy use.

Slipstream project manager Dan Strait said the study began with weather-normalized electricity and natural gas benchmarking and on-site assessments of Village Hall, the Public Works building and the Public Safety Building. The firm compared Lincolnwood'9s facilities to national benchmarks and ASHRAE 100 guidance and used energy modeling to estimate savings and costs for a range of upgrades. "We believe that you could add about 500 kilowatts of on-site solar, which, if implemented, should cover about 40% of current electricity use," Strait said.

The plan divides recommendations into measures that are ready for immediate action (expected to align with remaining grant funds) and longer-term capital improvements intended for a five- to 10-year horizon. Slipstream emphasized operational and procedural changes such as improved controls, set-point management and procurement specifications (for example, selecting Energy Star-rated equipment when replacing failed systems) as low-cost ways to reduce energy use and staff time.

Community outreach included a resident survey and in-person engagement at an Oktoberfest event. Slipstream reported that while many residents already had taken some home-efficiency steps (LED lighting, basic thermostat adjustments), a sizable minority faces difficulty paying utility bills and wants the village'9s help finding and accessing programs. The plan therefore recommends education and targeted programs, including a solar or heat-pump group buy, referral resources, and coordination with local partners.

Strait outlined a menu of policy tools the village could consider over time: encouraging community solar, exploring a renewable municipal aggregation agreement, seeking SolSmart certification to identify permitting and institutional barriers, and considering voluntary stretch energy codes or building performance benchmarking for commercial and multifamily properties.

Trustees asked staff and the consultant how adoption should be interpreted and how the village would prioritize recommendations. Trustee Martel said he wanted clarity on whether adopting the plan obligates the village to implement all recommendations or simply accept it as guidance. Natalie Benner, the village'9s management analyst, and the consultant said the plan is intended as a guidance document: individual projects will be evaluated and pursued as funding and timing allow. "The expectation was not so much that the village would commit to moving forward with all of this," Strait said; rather, staff would parse and prioritize projects "as we move forward."

Several trustees pressed staff to prioritize projects by payback. Trustee Gossos noted that solar economics in the consultant'9s draft looked like a long payback in some cases and asked how the village could justify large upfront costs; Strait said the plan used conservative savings estimates and did not incorporate a social cost of carbon. "Those payback periods look much, much shorter once you start to put in a social cost of carbon on there," he said, offering to add that analysis upon request.

Trustees also urged staff to push feasible, low-cost actions first, pointing to recent LED streetlight upgrades as an example of effective, near-term savings. Staff agreed to provide a consolidated table that lists recommended actions, associated costs and estimated payback periods to help the village prioritize projects.

The plan and presentation did not itself commit the village to any specific capital expenditures; staff recommended adopting the plan as a guiding document and then bringing discrete projects forward for separate review and funding decisions. The Committee thanked the presenters and asked staff to return with summarized cost/payback tables to support prioritization.