In October 2014, construction began on the new International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) Technical Institute’s (IN-TECH) training field and potential net zero energy building in Alsip, Ill. Designed by Legat Architects, Chicago, the renewable energy training field will be used to train union electricians in the latest sustainable technologies.
Expected to be completed this spring, the project will be the largest outdoor training campus of its kind in the country. It may also have one of the Midwest’s first net zero energy facilities. “It’s a place to maximize the skills of our apprentices and journeymen,” says Terry Allen, IN-TECH chairman and Local 134 business manager. “It’s also a regional demonstration site for the latest advances in sustainable technology.”
James J. McGlynn, vice-chairman of IN-TECH and president of McWilliams Electric Co. Inc., Schaumburg, Ill., adds, “Our contractors will have a competitive edge on the newest technologies.”
Located on a 25-acre field 15 miles southwest of downtown Chicago, the project will include a 100-foot-tall cell tower for climbing and mounting antennae, a 60-foot-tall climbing tower to practice ascending wind turbines; a solar carport to charge five electric vehicles; a solar tracker on a rotating base that will automatically follow the sun’s position; and a 75-foot-tall miniature wind turbine with a pole that tilts down so students can service the turbine on the ground.
A glowing strip of LED lights will surround the new 4,500-square-foot building aiming for net zero energy consumption. It will house inverters and distribution equipment, and eventually, a pad that charges electric cars without plugging them in. “The building’s design calls attention to the technology inside,” says Alan Bombick, principal at Legat Architects, “which is at the forefront of power management techniques.”
Rob Wroble, project manager, adds, “The building’s sloped roofs have sections clad in shingles and metal panels so that the members of Local 134 can experience photovoltaic installations on different roof types.”
A ground-mounted solar field, approximately the size of a football field, will gather enough energy to power the new storage building and a welding lab in the institute’s main building, along with pushing excess energy back into the grid. The 250-watt photovoltaic panels will be supplied by Sharp Electronics Corp., Camas, Wash.
Additionally, Berridge Manufacturing, San Antonio, will supply its Tee-Panel standing seam metal roof system for the project.
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) Technical Institute’s (IN-TECH) Training Field, Alsip, Ill.
Owners: International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 134
Architect: Legat Architects, Chicago
Construction manager: Meade, McCook, Ill.
General contractor: Wm. A. Randolph Inc., Gurnee, Ill.
Metal roof panels: Berridge Manufacturing, San Antonio, www.berridge.com
Photovoltaics: Sharp Electronics Corp., Camas, Wash., www.sharpusa.com/solar