Former coal mines, brownfields are perfect spaces for wind, solar energy

One of the biggest problems stunting renewable energy growth is space. The U.S. needs land the size of Texas to deploy enough wind and solar to meet energy demands. These swaths of land are often on farms, in forests and grasslands — areas critical to people and nature.

An untapped solution involves underutilized or abandoned sites — former coal mines and brownfields. I grew up near some of these blighted areas in Chicago and often wondered how they could be revitalized to bring economic prosperity and reparations to impacted communities.

The Nature Conservancy’s report, “Mining the Sun,” reveals that Illinois has more than 200,000 acres of former mines and several thousand brownfields that can be repurposed for wind and solar energy. Building in these areas would ease the pressure off farmlands and forests, and benefit communities overburdened by industry pollution through new tax revenue and funding for cleanup.

The hospital where I was born, Michael Reese, is a Superfund site. And in 2017, South Shore had over 190 asthma-related emergency room visits from children and teenagers. Communities of Black, indigenous and other people of color try to remain resilient in the face of pollution degrading our lands and harming our health.

Despite the potential, clean energy developers can be hesitant to venture into brownfields due to concerns about contamination cleanup costs and potential legal issues.

However, the "Mining the Sun" report shows new incentives and tax breaks, such as those in the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, could cover almost all additional costs related to clean energy development on brownfields.

Illinois’ Climate and Equitable Jobs Act is forecast to drive nearly five times the current capacity for wind and solar by 2050. To encourage development on brownfields, we need to make it faster, easier and cheaper to build clean energy on these underutilized sites. Renewable energy developers, electric utilities, policymakers and regulators need to look at these areas as a high-reward, low-conflict pathway to a just transition to clean energy.

The urgency to build renewable energy must not disregard community concerns. Renewable energy development on mine lands and brownfields is a promising avenue to produce clean energy in a way that respects communities and helps avoid using our remaining healthy lands. By repurposing our past, we can power our future sustainably and equitably.

Tonyisha Harris, Illinois climate and energy program manager, The Nature Conservancy

CTA, perfect the basics before toying with AI

I read the Sun-Times article “CTA testing artificial intelligence to detect guns at train stations, but ACLU is raising questions” while standing at the Forest Park- Harlem platform waiting for a train that was 20 minutes late. Aside from the very real concerns about the efficacy and dangers of the ZeroEyes system, it seems a ridiculous use of money for the beleaguered transit system.

As a daily Blue Line rider, I am dismayed to see the CTA is spending money on a system that uses untested technology when they aren’t able to master the basics of operating a public transit system.

The Blue Line is rife with problems and is an unpleasant experience almost every day.

The train creeps along at less than 15 miles per hour during most of my commute, reportedly due to the level of track disrepair. A commute of a few miles takes nearly 30 minutes.

Looking out the window of the train, I observe piles of garbage along the tracks (much of which seems to have been left behind by CTA construction workers).

The existing turnstiles at the stops are routinely inoperable. There is no reliable train tracking system available.

If the CTA cannot maintain existing turnstiles, clean platforms, basic technology and safe tracks, how do they plan to add experimental technology into the mix?

Kate Powers, Forest Park