The incinerator is a Superfund site under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which would have a role in any decision to pursue the concept, said Joshua Lococo, assistant county sanitary engineer.
“The biggest hurdle for implementing this would be getting permits through the EPA. The site is currently a Superfund site under CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act) and is subject to the EPA,” Lococo said.
The EPA would have to approve any changes to the current remediation plan and allow the county to follow through with placing the solar array on the landfill, Lococo said.
“Besides permitting, advanced geotechnical studies would have to be conducted prior to engineering to ensure the stability of the landfill and allow for the design team to understand the limitations of the site. A big upfront effort would be undertaken to ensure that project construction would be completed relatively smoothly,” Lococo said.
Among goals of a project would be to transform an underutilized property into a productive asset, consultants said in the report, noting an economic benefit could come in multiple ways:
• Solar energy utilized to power county-owned facilities adjacent to the brownfield. This project could be owned by the county or owned by a third party with energy sold to the county through a Power Purchase Agreement.
• Lease income and tax remittances from the operator of a solar generation project who would build, own and operate the project to provide solar energy to an offsite customer or customers (commonly referred to as “Community Solar”).
• A combination of the two approaches.
The community would benefit the most from the project by the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the facility, Lococo said.
“The North 25A campus could be powered by the (solar) … array, reducing the county’s dependence on fossil fuels. This project would take unused land that is currently fenced off and expands its use without taking land away from the public,” he said.
Consultants wrote in the report that a solar project on the county site is technically, economically and environmentally feasible.
“The project offers significant potential for generating revenue/savings for the county, generating renewable energy, creating jobs, improving the local economy and remedying environmental contamination. However, careful planning, stakeholder engagement and risk management are essential to ensure successful implementation,” the consultants said.
The concept of a solar field built on top of a capped landfill is not new in the state, Lococo said.
In Cuyahoga County, the Brooklyn Solar Farm was the first solar field to be built on top of a capped landfill and was operational in 2018. Cuyahoga County was just awarded another grant to turn a former Construction and Demolition Landfill into another solar array, he said.
The Kokosing report is being reviewed but a recommendation to the commissioners has not yet been prepared, said Michael Clarey, the commissioners’ chief administrative officer.
“I have done a cursory review, and overall it seems positive as to the feasibility,” he said.
Contact this contributing writer at nancykburr@aol.com.
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