Until now, the assumption has been that utility scale solar farms have to be built in rural areas, due to the land required. Here's a dramatic new approach that overturns that way of thinking... repurposing obsolete urban industrial sites with Superfund complications.
As the article points out, these sites are generally cheap to acquire, and yet they typically have useful infrastructure available, like electrical grid connections and transmission lines, as well as transportation links. And they're close to market.
Quote:
Blight To Bright: Superfund Site Gets First Ever Utility Scale Solar Farm
The Hanwha Q CELLS solar farm, dubbed the Maywood Solar Farm, is a 10.86 MW operation on 43 acres of the Reilly site.
The solar farm is significant because Hanwha Q CELLS was able to complete the project within budget, despite the added complications of building on a Superfund Site.
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The proprietary Hanwha Q CELLS Soil Disturbance Minimization Plan resulted in a volume reduction of site soil movement of more than 93% 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.
Also of significance, Maywood was backed by conventional solar industry financing without government incentives.
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Millions Of Acres For Solar Development
To give you an idea of how much the financial success of this project could open the floodgates to Superfund solar farm development, consider that the US EPA has assessed tens of thousands of hazardous sites since 1980.
Working with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, EPA recently came up with a figure of 14 million for the number of acres in classified sites that have the potential for solar power development.
First Ever Utility Scale Solar Farm On Contaminated Superfund Site.
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