A community solar power project in a former global landfill in Southhampton, New Jersey is seen as a ‘win-win’. Read to know more about the project and efforts for clean energy.
Community solar power project in place of a landfill
Clean energy projects in landfills are a popular and great use of land that does not have much use. CEP Renewables and CS Energy are constructing a 10-megawatt (MW) community solar landfill project in Southampton, New Jersey. “We are excited to be able to build upon the success of our redevelopment project in Mount Olive, New Jersey — the largest solar landfill project in North America — by utilizing a similar process with this project,” stated Chris Ichter. Ichter is the Executive Vice President of CEP Renewables.
The 10 MW solar farm will contain two 5MW systems as a part of two utility districts. This is going to help produce electricity for about 2,000 houses. “Beyond converting previously unusable land to a clean energy generating asset, the project will also serve low-to-moderate income (LMI) residents and will enable the Township to recoup 40 years of back taxes and interest,” stated the developers.
More on the “win-win” project
The community solar power project is seen as a win-win-win-win as it also paves the road for more projects when the opportunity arises. “There are over 10,000 closed landfills in the United States, and it has been determined that closed landfills could host more than 60 GW of solar capacity — enough to power 7.8 million homes or the state of South Carolina,” stated the companies. Moreover, there has been an 80 percent rise in solar landfill projects in the last five years. The firms believe this is largely due to the rise in landfill expertise developed by firms such as CEP. This is one of 16 other brownfield or landfill projects in development by the CEP.
