One man's trash: Annapolis creating solar in an unusual location
Annapolis is joining many other cities in adding renewables to their energy mix, but they are doing it in an innovative way.
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Mayor Mike Pantelides. Credit: City of Annapolis |
The city of Annapolis this week signed a 20-year contract for the Annapolis Renewable Energy Park, a 16.8 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) park. The project is innovative, however, because it is being developed on 80 acres of a closed landfill, located in Anne Arundel County, in the vicinity of Interstate 97, Maryland Route 450, and Crownsville Road.
"This project has been a priority of mine since I took office," Annapolis Mayor Michael Pantelides said. "This project is about turning a liability into an asset. This Park will turn a large plot of unused land into a revenue generator and a job creator."
The project is expected to generate more than $5 million in revenue over the course of the 20-year lease, and will be operational by the end of 2016. The city will be required to purchase 2 MW of energy each year, but Mayor Pantelides told the Capital Gazette that is energy the city would need anyway. When the project is completed, it will be the largest closed landfill solar project in the country, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and will produce around 21.8 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity.
The city of Annapolis said the solar produced by the project is estimated to offset the CO2 emissions of 12.5 percent of the annual household electricity usage within the city.
Annapolis Solar Park, LLC is jointly owned by BQ Energy, LLC in partnership with Building Energy Development US, LLC.
The City of Annapolis developed the solar park project using EPA's guidelines, and received support for proposal evaluations, as well as other advisory support, from Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Environmental Services, Maryland Clean Energy Center, and other renewable energy experts.
Mayor Pantelides also said that nonprofits would be able to purchase some of the energy produced by the solar farm, offsetting their energy costs. He also said the project is not the only renewable project they plan to invest in. He explained, "Down the road, the city will investigate other options to expand ways to develop renewable energy."
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