‘Going Solar’ is Hot for Landfills
Construction begins on a solar array at a New Jersey landfill to power the groundwater treatment system. Photo: KSE Partners and groSolar
Solar energy systems are finding new homes – at closed landfills across the country.
Solar company groSolar announced yesterday that it will be installing a 1.5-megawatt solar system at a closed landfill in Bridgeport, N.J. The landfill owner Clean Harbors will use the solar-generated electricity to run the site’s groundwater decontamination system. The solar array will produce enough electricity to power 1,000 homes and will cut the company’s annual electric bill of $270,000 by 90 percent.
A closed, capped landfill makes an ideal location for a solar array. The area is raised, free of trees and has no nearby buildings, so the solar panels receive direct sunlight.
Construction of a solar array on another closed landfill – this time in Canton, Mass. – will kick off in spring. This system, to be built by Southern Sky Renewable Energy, will generate 5.6 megawatts and will be the largest solar array in New England. Another solar company Axio Power is currently working on projects in closed landfills and brownfields in other towns in Massachusetts, as well as cities in California and Hawaii.
Last year, Earth911 reported that waste company Republic Services installed landfill covers with solar strips at their closed landfill in Texas.
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