Working Towards a Brighter Future
Example image of a solar farm
The Opportunity at a Glance
Moyer's Landfill has the potential to serve as a solar farm, providing Montgomery County, PA with its first solar farm. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has removed the landfill from the Superfund National Priorities List, and moved it to the list of sites available for reuse in the renewable energy sector through their e-Powering America's Land Initiative, which enhances sustainable development on closed landfills. Nationwide, there are at least 75 Superfund sites in planned or actual alternative energy reuse, including solar. The site is ideal for solar generation with its elevated contours and grass covering.
The Site
Moyer's Landfill is a 65-acre closed and capped landfill located at Moyer Road in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. This site consists of open land with sloped sides surrounded largely by wooded areas. Leachate treatment, as a result of the former landfill activities, continues at the site and is managed by PA Department of Environmental Protection.
The Proposal
Rising state renewable portfolio standards, increasing levels of corporate, government and residential demand, and improving economic competitiveness continue to be key drivers for utilities' and other energy companies' interest in renewables. As Pennsylvania continues to be a national energy leader and diversifies its grid with clean renewable sources of energy, repurposing sites like retired landfills to energy production is a benefit for local communities by deflecting development pressures away from open space and lands with other environmental and reuse options. We are committed to responsible development of the site and will balance the growth of this valuable industry with the need to protect our natural resources. Dramatic improvements to solar technologies have enabled recent rapid growth for solar power and are providing cost-effective options for decarbonizing the U.S. electric grid.
The Benefits
This project would meet some of the locally desired renewable energy needs as well as that of the state and federal legislative delegation. This project reclaims and reuses contaminated land to a long-term sustainable and productive asset for the community while the clean-up continues. We are committed to a strong public and community outreach program and look forward to engaging with the local residents. At just 5 MW, 134,000 tons of CO2 would be eliminated over the life of this project (25 years).
Resources
Reuse Opportunities at Capped Superfund Sites:
https://semspub.epa.gov/work/HQ/196748.pdf