Solar Power Installations on Closed Landfills

Mark P. Rossow, PhD, PE Retired

Course Outline

This two-hour online course discusses the current nature of solar energy developments on closed landfills using the following focal areas: (1) solar power system considerations with respect to landfill applications, (2) landfill technical and engineering considerations, and (3) regulatory considerations.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:

• Different solar technologies;
• Solar system weight considerations;
• Wind loading and snow loading; 
• Settlement and side slope stability;
• Cover material integrity;
• Renewable energy production on Superfund or brownfield sites;
• Summary of technical complications, challenges, and potential remedies;
• Zoning, land use, and required permitting;
• Existing contamination and environmental site investigations; and 
• CERCLA liability.

Intended Audience

This course is intended for civil, construction, electrical, environmental, and mechanical engineers with an interest in revitalizing contaminated lands.

Benefit to Attendees

A person completing this course will be familiar with design issues related to siting solar power installations on closed landfills and will be able to make meaningful judgments about such issues

Course Introduction

Development of contaminated lands in general and closed landfills in particular for the placement of renewable energy is a relatively new and growing practice. While the benefits of developing contaminated lands are well established, recurring challenges and limited literature on the subject are believed to complicate the practice.

Course Content

This course is based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency document, “Solar Power Installations on Closed Landfills: Technical and Regulatory Considerations,” by Gabriel Sampson, September 2009.

Solar Power Installations on Closed Landfills

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.

Course Summary

Through a combination of case study evidence and literature research, this course presents an examination of the current complications to placing solar systems on closed landfills while also providing applications for additional study in the area of landfill and contaminated lands development.

Related Links

For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites or web pages:

http://www.epa.gov/gateway/science/land.html

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

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DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

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