RE-Powering: In Your Community
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Projects Across the Country
Using publically available information, RE-Powering maintains a list of completed renewable energy installations on contaminated sites and landfills. The locations of these installations reflect evolving market trends generally linked to available renewable energy resource, Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), net-metering laws, and other incentives. The RE-Powering Tracking Matrix provides summary statistics of known installations and discusses emerging trends.
Explore the map below to learn more about successfully completed projects.
Fact Sheets and Success Stories
- Technology Fact Sheets
The following fact sheets provide an overview the primary renewable energy technologies promoted through RE-Powering.
- Solar Technologies provides an overview of the Initiative’s analysis of solar technologies
- Wind Technologies provides an overview of the Initiative’s analysis of wind technologies
- Biomass Technologies provides an overview of the Initiative’s analysis of biomass technologies
- Geothermal Technologies provides an overview of the Initiative’s analysis of geothermal technologies
- Success Stories
These stories highlight renewable energy installations on current and formerly contaminated lands, landfills, and mine sites.
State City or
CountySite Name Project Type VT Rutland Stafford Hill Solar Farm Electricity Generation MA Scituate Scituate Landfill Electricity Generation NM Questa Molycorp, Inc. Electricity Generation WY Casper Chevron Electricity Generation CO El Paso County Fort Carson Electricity Generation NY Lackawanna Bethlehem Steel Electricity Generation NV Frenchman and Yucca Flats Nellis Air Force Base Electricity Generation CO Rifle New Rifle Mill Site Electricity Generation CA Richmond West Contra Costa County
Wastewater DistrictElectricity Generation OH Dayton Tech Town Electricity Generation CA Sacramento Aerojet General Corporation Powering Remediation AZ Rio Cochise County Apache Powder Powering Remediation CA Davis Frontier Fertilizer Powering Remediation CA Livermore Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Powering Remediation CA Monterey Park Operating Industries Landfill Powering Remediation CA Maywood Pemaco Superfund Site Powering Remediation CO Rio Grande County Summitville Mine Site Powering Remediation CO Lakewood Belmar Mixed Use Development Brownfields Redevelopment IA Newton Former Maytag Appliance Factory Green Manufacturing PA Fairless Hills Keystone Port Industrial Complex Green Manufacturing
Solar on Landfills
Reusing former landfills as large solar projects is a clear, growing trend. In 1988, there were nearly 8,000 landfills in the United States. In 2009, that number had dropped to below 2,000. The landfills that closed over the intervening years—plus portions of active landfills with closed cells—represent thousands of acres that may be suitable for siting solar projects.
Many landfills are particularly well-suited for solar development because they are often:
- Located near critical infrastructure including electric transmission lines and roads;
- Located near areas with high energy demand (e.g., large population bases);
- Constructed with large areas of minimal grade (0-2 percent) needed for optimal siting of solar photovoltaic (PV) structures;
- Offered at lower land costs when compared to open space; and
- Able to accommodate net metered or utility scale projects.
EPA and the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) jointly developed the Best Practices for Siting Solar Photovoltaics on Municipal Solid Waste Landfills. EPA and NREL created this document to provide assistance in addressing common technical challenges for siting solar photovoltaic (PV) on municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills.
- Best Practices for Siting Solar Photovoltaics on Municipal Solid Waste Landfills
This document provides best practices unique to siting solar photovoltaics on municipal solid waste landfills. Many stakeholders, including solar developers, landfill owners, and federal, state and local governments may find this information useful.
Community Solar
Community solar programs offer the economic and environmental benefits of solar to the 49% of Americans without traditional solar access, either because of physical, ownership or financial limitations.
RE-Powering sites represent a large and varied collection of sites that do not generally have on-site electricity load to serve following cleanup.
The discussion paper below links the need for solar access and the mechanism of community solar to the opportunity of using formerly contaminated lands, landfills and mine sites for renewable energy: