Author(s)

V. Pitruzzello

Abstract

This abstract describes how the New York City office of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is working with other U.S. government agencies as well as agencies from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to re-use municipal landfills for the generation of renewable energy. Keywords: solar power, solar panel production, methane gas, incubator industries training, renewable energy, solid waste, power delivery system, alternative energy, carbon load reduction, photovoltaic cells. 1 Introduction In September 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched the RE-Powering America’s Land: Siting Renewable Energy on Potentially Contaminated Land and Mine Sites initiative. EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are collaborating on a project to evaluate the feasibility of siting renewable energy production on potentially contaminated sites. EPA has provided more than $650,000 through an interagency agreement that pairs EPA’s expertise on contaminated sites with NREL’s expertise in renewable energy. The project will analyze the feasibility of siting renewable energy on 12 sites across the country. The analysis will include, among other things, the best renewable energy technology for the site, the optimal area to locate the renewable energy technology on the site, potential renewable energy generating capacity, the return on investment, and the economic feasibility of the renewable energy projects. NREL will also pursue an analysis to explore the potential for siting alternative fuel stations (e.g., electric charging stations) at former gas station sites.

Keywords

solar power, solar panel production, methane gas, incubator industries training, renewable energy, solid waste, power delivery system, alternative energy, carbon load reduction, photovoltaic cells