Largest Solar Project Installed on Closed Landfill Under Consideration

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annapolis md Energy ManageIf plans for a 16.8 MW solar energy facility are approved, the Annapolis Renewable Energy Park in Maryland would house the nation’s largest solar energy project installed on a closed landfill, the Capital Gazette reports. The facility would generate more than 20 million kWh of electricity and would help cut the city’s operating costs by powering city buildings with lower cost energy.

Under the terms of the 20-year lease, the city would receive $10,000 in base rent from Annapolis Solar Park, which was one of five bidders for the project, and $15,000 in additional rent per megawatt of capacity, excluding energy used by the city, for an average total of $260,00 annually.

The Annapolis Renewable Energy Park was first proposed in 2009 and included the deployment of solar, biomass and methane energy on the 500-acre site of a former city landfill. That bid ended when disputes arose over selecting a developer.

Annapolis Solar Park is jointly owned by BQ Energy, of Poughkeepsie, New York, and Building Energy Development. BQ Energy will develop, build, own and operate the Annapolis facility.

The Annapolis city council must approve the lease before construction can begin. If approved, the solar portion of the energy park could be open by the end of 2016. The cost to build the facility has not yet been determined.

A number of states are reusing closed landfill sites for solar projects. Massachusetts, for example, promotes the reuse of capped landfills and other brownfield locations for solar projects. A solar garden was installed on 2.4 acres of of a capped landfill in Marion, Massachusetts, and a 3 MW solar system was built on top of a capped landfill in Scituate, Massachusetts.

Photo via Shutterstock.

Environment + Energy Leader