Freeport City Council delays vote to push solar energy in the ci

Freeport will have to wait a little longer to find out if it will be increasing its use of solar energy through SolSmart.

On Monday, the city council decided to push the vote on an ordinance about Freeport becoming a SolSmart community to its next meeting so that the council can have more time to look at recommendations given by the department of energy. SolSmart is a program that was created by the U.S. Department of Energy to motivate communities to use solar energy. 

The city is working on putting solar energy into both its landfill and its waste water treatment facility. There has also been interest in having homeowners install solar power.  

“We want to show that we’re supporting solar and green initiatives that are going on within the state of Illinois and really show that we’re really at the leading edge of solar power,” Freeport City Manager Lowell Crow said. 

The next Freeport City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 4.