When One Landfill Closes...

There are multiple landfill-to-solar projects in the U.S., which are a great way to make use of inactive landfills that are normally very complicated to redevelop. Neel Dhanesha recently authored an article at Vox.com about a 240-acre site in Texas that was an active landfill until its closure in the ‘70s.

The site is located south of Houston, and since the landfill closed down, not much has changed with the area, apart from the trees that are now growing there. The new landfill-to-solar project will involve cutting down these trees and building a solar farm capable of generating 52 megawatts of solar power. This would become the largest urban solar farm in the country.

Dhanesha explains that generating solar energy at landfills is a low-maintenance solution. A solar farm can generate energy for the community, so it is often an easy project to gain public acceptance for. “If a landfill is improperly capped or emitting pollution of some sort, landfill solar could be a good way to fix those problems and transform the space into something new,” he writes.

I recently covered a story about a few of the many options to consider for a landfill repurposing project. An inactive landfill in Pennsylvania, which was previously labeled a Superfund site, was redeveloped into a wildlife habitat. The site also saw the installation of a 2-acre solar energy array.

The gas produced by a landfill after it is closed can be used to generate renewable for years as well. The possibilities for inactive landfills are nearly endless, depending on the type of waste disposed and the post-closure care process.

There are plans to repurpose an impermissible landfill in Fulton County, Georgia, as a mixed-use development. According to an article by Itoro Umontuen, TPA Residential hopes to transform the site into 63 rental townhomes, 215 apartment units, and 750 square feet of space for commercial and retail businesses. The development costs are quite high due to the conditions of the site and the necessary remediation.