Today marks the long awaited completion of the Camp Pendleton solar power installation supporting electricity generation atop a landfill, the US Marine Corp’s largest solar installation, a 1.4 megawatt system capable of producing 2,400 megawatt-hours each year, enough to power 400 homes which could save $336,000 annually in power costs.
The project cost $9.4 million and according to Pew Environment Group research, the US Department of Defense has “set a goal of producing or procuring 25% of its electric energy needs from renewable sources by 2025.”
This solar project does more than reduce bills and meet the government’s green goals, it marks a trend toward repurposing the previously un-repurposable (yes, that’s a made up word). Landfills are often seen as a community nuisance, and in the past, buildings have been built on top of them which hasn’t always produced the desired stability- just ask the Fort Worth hospital that was built on a landfill, sunk into the ground and ended up being condemned and torn down shortly after opening.
Landfills don’t have to be a nuisance, they can be the site of future solar farms as proven by the Marine Corps. They can host other alternative energy options as well rather than just remain a bane on the neighborhood.
Would you say no to a landfill in your subdivision if in a few years it was slated to be a solar farm capable of powering the entire area? Some people have mixed feelings on it regardless- what do you think?
Tara Steele is the News Director at The American Genius, covering entrepreneur, real estate, technology news and everything in between. If you'd like to reach Tara with a question, comment, press release or hot news tip, simply click the link below.