Solar farm, alternative fueling station, composting set for O'Hare & Midway

From an article by Jon Hilkevitch in the Chicago Tribune:

Solar energy collectors will be installed on up to 60 acres at O'Hare International Airport, and a service station selling alternative fuels for private and commercial vehicles will open near the airport, Chicago's aviation chief announced Monday.

"The solar panels will provide a substantial renewable energy source to help power O'Hare, and the alternative fueling station will promote the use of clean fuels and electricity to power vehicles," city Aviation Commissioner Rosemarie Andolino said at the 2011 Airports Going Green conference, which runs through Wednesday in downtown Chicago and at O'Hare.

At Midway airport, a composting program will be launched to handle food waste from its 13 restaurants, Andolino said.
private waste hauler will collect compostable materials at Midway, ranging from leftover food to cardboard boxes, and deliver them to an off-site composting facility, said Amy Malick, deputy commissioner of sustainability at the Chicago Department of Aviation.

The Midway project follows a pilot composting program at O'Hare. A total of 200 tons of compostable waste at both airports will be diverted from landfills each year, Malick said.

The service station selling alternative fuels will be located on a 2.25-acre parcel at Patton Drive and Higgins Road (near the intersection of Mannheim Road and Higgins) just outside the airport, Andolino said.

"The fueling station will be able to provide alternative fuels like bio-diesel, ethanol, electric charging as well as traditional fuel'' to commercial vehicles and private passenger vehicles, Andolino said. Construction of the facility is expected to begin in about a year, she said.

Posted in: Biomass,Solar,Vehicles - Electric,Vehicles - Hybrid