Dive Summary:
- The Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority (CRRA) will cap and install solar panels on the Hartford, Conn. landfill.
- E. T. & L. Corp. has been hired to cap the remaining uncapped 35-acre section of the landfill and install solar panels; the company will put in a synthetic grass surgace to prevent wastewater from contaminating the nearby groundwater.
- The six-acre solar project will generate one-megawatt of energy; the combined cap and solar install project will cost about $11.6 million.
From the article:
Across the country, there are more than 70 similar projects on contaminated sites, former landfills or mined areas that create 216 megawatts of clean energy, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Most are solar projects, like Hartford's, but others include wind power, wood-burning biomass, hydropower and geothermal.
"When we began working with the city of Hartford on the future of the landfill, we wanted to find innovative ways to use the land," CRRA President Thomas D. Kirk said in a written statement. "Solar energy was an idea we all agreed on right away."
