Oak Park Community Recreation Center to Add Two New Solar Carport Arrays

In a big step toward achieving its sustainability goals, the Park District of Oak Park will add two new solar carports to the parking lot of its Community Recreation Center. These new solar carport projects are estimated to produce about 86,000 kWh of electricity and enable the recreation center to achieve its net-zero energy goals. Net-zero energy buildings produce more energy than they use. The energy surplus is fed into the grid and applied as a credit on the building’s energy bills.

Windfree Solar, a Chicago-based solar energy and design company, will be installing the solar carports. Since 2009, Windfree has installed solar energy and battery storage systems on ten park district buildings. This includes the recreation center’s first carport array, battery storage, and rooftop solar energy system, which together generate more than 360,450 kWh per year and have the same environmental benefit as planting 175,497 trees and avoiding the use of nearly 16,000 barrels of oil. These projects were completed as part of the recreation center’s grand opening in 2023. They’ve saved the 42,000-square-foot recreation center $80,000 in energy costs every year.

Windfree also installed the solar energy for the park district’s first net-zero-energy building, the Carroll Community Center. The building achieved net-zero status in 2021 and produces twice the amount of energy it uses.

“Since we opened the Community Recreation Center in 2023, we’ve been taking key steps to make it our second net-zero energy building,” said Park District of Oak Park Executive Director Jan Arnold. “We’ve installed rooftop solar, a solar carport, and a solar awning. These new solar carports are the final step toward pursuing a net-zero status.”

Oak Park is a climate and clean energy leader. In 2022, Oak Park adopted a climate readiness plan that includes a goal of powering all village facilities with 100% renewable energy by 2030. In 2023, it became the first municipality in the Midwest to adopt a building electrification ordinance prohibiting the use of fossil fuels, such as natural gas, in all new residential and commercial buildings. The village also offers grants to help homeowners cover the cost of energy efficiency improvements and going solar.

“As a Chicago native and the state’s former sustainability director under Governor Pat Quinn, I’m proud that we are helping the park district achieve its sustainability and clean energy goals,” said Windfree Solar CEO Eric Heineman. “We are showing that building electrification is possible for buildings large and small.”

The Oak Park zoning board approved the two new carport arrays on September 10, 2025. Construction is expected to begin in the spring or summer of 2026 and take between four to six weeks to complete. Each array will cover 10 parking spots and consist of 63 solar panels.

The Community Recreation Center features a gymnasium, indoor track, fitness center, e-sports lounge, playzone, community rooms, and more. The center serves 20% of Oak Park’s population every year.

Windfree Solar is a Chicago-based minority-owned business enterprise (MBE) and equity eligible contractor (EEC) with 30+ employees. Ten people will work on the solar carport projects. Windfree has installed solar on 68 Oak Park homes, businesses, and municipal buildings, with more projects in progress.