The first utility scale solar project constructed on an active EPA Superfund site has been completed in Indiana.
The 10.86-MW Maywood Solar Farm is located on 43 acres of the Reilly Tar & Chemical Superfund site in Indianapolis, and was completed under the 2012 Indianapolis Power & Light (IPL) Rate-REP program. The project was unique in that it was completed with minimal soil disturbance on a toxic site.
The Maywood Solar Farm was developed without federal, state, local or corporate incentives and used conventional solar project financing. Construction began in July 2013 and was completed in March. Hanwha Q CELLS were used in a project that included the EPA, Vertellus Specialties, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Indiana Power & Light and others.
Q CELLS said the project is significant because it overcame legal, financial, regulatory and construction hurdles to be sited on a former hazardous waste site. The proprietary Hanwha Q CELLS Soil Disturbance Minimization Plan resulted in a volume reduction of site soil movement of more than 93 percent over conventional construction approaches, while also minimizing the potential for exposing known underground hazards, impairing the existing site environmental remedy, or creating human exposure to site hazards, according to the company.