Day 351 – Once a landfill has reached its capacity, there’s not much use for it. That is until it was realized that they could make a good location for solar farms. Solar farms take up a great deal of space. So, it’s ideal to build them on landfills that are no longer in use.

It is believed that the U.S. could increase the nation’s solar energy capacity by 63 gigawatts, or approximately 60%, simply by building solar farms on landfills.

“Nexamp’s Solar Star Urbana Landfill community solar farm occupies nearly 40 acres on a capped landfill. It features nearly 14,000 solar panels and generates 5.2 megawatts of clean energy for low and middle income residents, who receive discounts on their energy bill if they sign up to take on the solar energy. IKON Environmental Energy is building a 70 megawatt solar farm in Houston Texas called the Sunnyside Energy Project that will power 12,000 homes, atop a 240-acre capped, methane-leaking landfill that will also host community features like an electric vehicle charging point, bio-digester to turn certain waste sources into green energy and fertilizer, and a community garden.” – Good News Network

There are more than 10,000 closed or capped landfills around the country, and perhaps as many as 4,000 of them could be turned into solar farms immediately.

Tomorrow, products made from carbon.