What do you do with a landfill that gets filled? A more common problem than you may think, but Maryland has shown US a responsible and efficient solution. A former landfill in Fort Washington, MD has been transformed into the state's first large-scale, community solar farm. Under a state run program, local community members are able to buy a share of energy produced by a solar array. Participants get a credit on their electric bill every month for their share of the energy produced by the array. Under the program, which runs through 2020, nearly 196 megawatts of installed solar
capacity will be allocated to a number of community solar farms in the
state.
Head of the Neighborhood Sun company told NPR the former landfill was a perfect place for a large scale solar installation because it could not be practically used for another purpose. Large scale arrays are land intensive, and one of the criticism of this abundant source of green energy. Solar installation
declined last year, partly due to an increase in cost in raw materials like aluminum and steel caused by increased tariffs on imported commodities.
ITC: investment tax credit
