Baltimore County, Maryland, simply introduced its first large-scale ground-mounted photo voltaic farm on-line, and it sits on what was the Parkton Landfill. The 213-acre web site, as soon as a logo of waste, is now producing clear energy that can reduce prices, slash emissions, and switch an underused piece of land right into a long-term vitality asset.
Positioned north of Baltimore Metropolis, Baltimore County is one in all Maryland’s largest and most populous counties, and its push towards renewables has main implications for the state’s local weather and vitality objectives.
County Govt Kathy Klausmeier referred to as the undertaking a transparent instance of innovation assembly sustainability: “We’re reducing prices for taxpayers and making investments that profit our communities for many years.”
The brand new photo voltaic farm will present round 11% of the Maryland county authorities’s annual electrical energy, producing roughly 8.2 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) in its first yr. That’s the equal of avoiding greenhouse fuel emissions from burning over 620,000 gallons of gasoline, powering greater than 1,150 houses for a yr, or driving 14 million fewer miles in fuel vehicles, in accordance with the EPA.
The 7 MW system contains 4 giant photo voltaic arrays of 15,000 ground-mounted photovoltaic panels. It’s a part of a rising pattern within the US to repurpose capped landfills for renewable vitality, turning dormant properties into productive clear vitality websites.
By means of an influence buy settlement with TotalEnergies, which owns and operates the system, Baltimore County will lock in lowered electrical energy charges for 25 years, with choices to increase the contract for as much as 33 years. That long-term deal protects taxpayers from future electrical energy value hikes whereas advancing native local weather objectives.
“Including one other giant supply of photo voltaic electrical energy to energy our County’s amenities displays our group’s values of creating good investments that maintain the well being of our group and atmosphere,” stated Greg Strella, the county’s chief sustainability officer.
TotalEnergies Managing Director Eric Potts referred to as the undertaking a “highly effective instance of reworking underutilized belongings into productive assets,” pointing to the twin advantages of reducing emissions and saving cash.
Baltimore County’s subsequent landfill photo voltaic undertaking, at Hernwood, is anticipated to come back on-line by 2028. As soon as that system is up and working, renewables will provide about 55% of the county authorities’s electrical energy use.
Learn extra: The Trump administration simply killed the US’s largest photo voltaic undertaking
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