In the mission to tackle climate change and enhance sustainability, solar power stands out as a beacon of renewable energy. Its potential seems limitless, yet an underutilized goldmine lies beneath the public's eyes – landfills. Transforming these eyesores of waste into vibrant solar farms offers a dual benefit: harnessing green energy and repurposing otherwise unused land. So why aren't more solar farms built on landfills?
Why Aren't More Solar Farms Built on Landfills?
While landfill solar projects offer numerous benefits, they also face certain obstacles that government property owners must navigate when trying to launch these initiatives. The primary challenges include concerns about public health, the visual impact of solar farms, regulatory complexities, environmental considerations, and the significant upfront investment required.
1) Aesthetic and Public Health Considerations
The association of landfills with pollution and environmental degradation lingers in the public consciousness. Critics may question the visual impact of a solarized landfill or express skepticism about health implications. These concerns demand transparent communication and the education of local populations to ensure community buy-in. However, most landfills are located in areas that are not directly visible from city centers. For example, the Annapolis Landfill Solar Park is not visible from the nearest highway, nor neighboring communities. There have been no noise or other complaints due to the solar park’s decisively remote location.
2) Regulatory and Policy Hurdles
Installing solar panels on landfill sites requires a thorough approach that ensures that disturbance to the landfill cap and underlying waste. Complex zoning laws, environmental regulations, and local policies can present formidable barriers, each landfill operating under a bespoke blend of red tape. To facilitate this transformation, there's an urgent need for streamlined, landfill-specific solar policies.
3) Environmental Considerations
Installing solar panels on landfill sites requires a thorough approach that ensures that disturbance to the landfill cap and underlying waste. Complex zoning laws, environmental regulations, and local policies can present formidable barriers, each landfill operating under a bespoke blend of red tape. Developers must address specific challenges when designing and constructing solar projects on municipal solid waste landfills. The EPA’s Best Practices Guide emphasizes key considerations such as minimizing the overall system weight, avoiding any penetration of the landfill cap, and ensuring proper vegetation and stormwater management after solar panels are installed. These guidelines are crucial to maintaining the integrity and sustainability of such projects.
4) Financial Incentives and Cautions
The finances of landfill solarization are a mixed bag. Initial investment costs are relatively high, given the groundwork needed to evaluate and prepare a landfill for solar infrastructure. However, long-term savings in land rejuvenation, energy harvesting, and potentially novel revenue streams from lease agreements with solar companies can tip the scales favorably.
The Potential of Landfill Solar Farms
Repurposing capped landfills for clean energy production has many benefits, so many landfills have been given new life through solar farm development. Beyond the obvious advantage of producing clean energy, these sites often present a harmonious balance between conservation and economic development. By utilizing already disturbed land, developers can avoid encroaching upon otherwise undeveloped natural areas. Furthermore, with many landfills located near urban centers, solar farms on these sites can provide much-needed locally sourced renewable energy. Additional opportunities and benefits of landfill solar farms include:
Environmental Benefits: Landfills, especially those already retired, offer vast, flat acreage under typically clear skies– a geographical boon for solar energy capture. By covering landfill tops with photoelectric panels, buried waste is insulated, and the intrusion of wildlife is reduced, subsequently lowering the risk of contamination and expanding ecological health in and around these sites.
Tax Credit Incentives: While the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) provides incentives for all solar installations, it extends additional tax credits specifically for projects on brownfields (such as landfills), and for renewable energy initiatives benefiting low-income communities.
Revenue Generation: By leasing their capped landfills for solar farms, governments can earn revenue from lease payments paid out annually by the solar developer.
The Future of Landfill Solar Farms
As we look to the future, the integration and innovation in landfill solar farms present a promising horizon. Advancements in technology will likely make solar panels more efficient and affordable, further incentivizing their deployment on underused lands. Additionally, creative solutions like transforming these sites into community energy hubs can foster local engagement and economic development. Legislative reforms that streamline the installation process for landfill solar projects can greatly accelerate their adoption and benefits. As renewable energy becomes increasingly urgent in our global fight against climate change, these landfill transformations may well represent a key piece in our sustainable energy puzzle.
Government agencies across the country are increasingly turning to solar leasing as an attractive opportunity for redeveloping these underutilized properties into assets. Government property owners can list their capped landfills for lease for free on LandGate's marketplace for exposure to a one-of-a-kind network of high-intent renewable energy developers actively searching for solar sites. An example of this is Weber County, UT. Weber County listed their 142-acre capped landfill for lease on LandGate's platform and has received multiple lease offers from reputable solar developers:
To learn more about the potential of your agency's landfill or underutilized property for renewable energy development, book a call with the government team at LandGate today:
