Castillo Engineering selected for landfill solar projects in New York

Castillo Engineering, a Maitland, Florida-based engineering firm, has been selected by Montante Solar, Buffalo, New York, to provide design and engineering services on two of Calibrant Energy’s landfill community solar projects in Niagara, New York, totaling 13 megawatts.

Currently under construction, the projects use ballasted, fixed-tilt mounting technology and are expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025.

“We’re grateful to have partnered with Castillo Engineering on this challenging landfill solar project in New York,” says Steve Erck, vice president at Montante Solar. “Their breadth of expertise—from civil to electrical to structural—has been instrumental in streamlining this project and optimizing each site while protecting the sensitive landfill cap.”

RELATED: A solar solution: Solar installations offer a revenue-generating redevelopment option to turn closed landfill sites from liabilities to assets.

In the last five years, landfill solar projects in the United States have risen by 80 percent, according to Castillo. New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey are home to over 70 percent of all the country’s utility-scale landfill solar projects. These landfill solar installations have a combined capacity of around 2.4 gigawatts. However, with an estimated 10,000 closed landfills nationwide, this capacity could potentially expand by at least 25 times, the company says.

In addition to adding momentum to the national expansion of landfill solar developments, the company says these two new landfill community solar projects in New York also further advance the state’s position as the state with the largest installed community solar capacity. They also contribute to New York’s ambitious renewable energy targets, including its goals of generating 70 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2030, and of reaching a 100 percent zero-emissions electricity grid by 2040.

“Montante Solar’s ability to achieve reliable returns and efficiently manage projects — especially on complex landfill solar projects — is exceptional,” Castillo Engineering CEO Christopher Castillo says. “We’re proud to collaborate with an industry leader like Montante Solar in transforming these formerly unusable sites into a source of more affordable, reliable and clean energy that will serve these communities for generations to come.”

Castillo Engineering is a large-scale design and engineering firm that delivers expertise in full service solar and energy storage design, engineering and consulting services to developers, EPC contractors and utility companies.