The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s RE-Powering America’s Land initiative
encourages renewable energy development on current and formerly contaminated
land and mine sites when it is aligned with the community’s vision for the site. 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. This effort pairs EPA’s expertise on
contaminated sites with NREL’s expertise in renewable energy. The feasibility studies will provide site owners and communities with a realistic and achievable plan for putting renewable energy on a given site.
Savannah GA - Former Tronox Facility
The 1,480-acre former Tronox facility located near Savannah, Georgia, once housed
titanium dioxide and sulfuric acid production facilities, a former wastewater
treatment plant, and several rail lines. From 1985 to 2008, a municipal solid waste
incinerator also was in operation on a leased five-acre portion of the site. Soil and
water along the existing facility are contaminated with metals, volatile organic
compounds, and semi-volatile organic compounds.
The proposed project envisions covering the former municipal waste landfill with a
solar system and repurposing of the municipal solid waste incinerator as a biopower
plant. Because there is significant utility infrastructure at the site, the need for
significant investment in transmission equipment to sell power for grid distribution
will be minimal. If constructed, these projects may provide sufficient energy to
power the facilities still in operation at the site.
EPA and NREL are collaborating to conduct a study on the potential for solar or biopower potential generation on the Former Tronox Facility site. The feasibility study will evaluate the technical and economic opportunities and challenges at the site. It will:
- Provide a preliminary analysis of the viability of the site;
- Assess solar resource availability or biopower potential;
- Identify possible system or facility size, design and location; and
- Review the economics of the proposed facility.
The former Kerr McGee Chemical Facility is approximately 90 acres and is adjacent
to residential property and commercial businesses. Beginning in 1928, the site
operated as a wood-preserving facility using creosote, creosote coal tar solutions
and pentachlorophenol, resulting in ground water and soil contamination. Since
operations ended in July 2003, all tanks, equipment and process buildings have
been removed. A small office and maintenance building housing groundwater
treatment equipment are all that remain. The local community has been actively
involved in following the cleanup process. The site was listed on the Superfund NPL
in September 2010.
Redevelopment of the site is envisioned as an integration of resident and business
needs with the goal of creating a revitalized, sustainable site centered on a proposed
solar facility. This clean energy center ultimately could power a community center,
new small businesses, new health centers, parks and gardens, which collectively
would help promote a healthier and more sustainable community. Depending on
overall system size, the goal is to further contribute to the community with the
reinvestment of potential revenue to complete the cleanup process.
EPA and NREL are collaborating to conduct a study on the potential for solar power generation on the former Kerr McGee Chemical Facility site. The feasibility study will evaluate the technical and economic opportunities and challenges at the site. It will:
- Provide a preliminary analysis of the viability of the site;
- Assess solar resource availability;
- Identify possible system size, design and location; and
- Review the economics of the proposed system.
Bernard Port, Harbor and Terminal District, the Chalmette National Battlefield and
Cemetery, and the Mississippi River. Kaiser Aluminum disposed of spent potliner
(SPL) from the aluminum process in a 25-foot mound on the river side of the site.
The SPL mound is properly capped as approved by the Louisiana Department of
Environmental Quality (LDEQ), but this inhibits traditional redevelopment of the site,
which has been vacant for more than 20 years.
Given the variety of crops grown in the region, the site may be a good candidate for
biorefinery or biopower projects. While the SPL mound covers about 19 acres of the
site, the remaining 20 acres are relatively flat, open land, making the installation of
an alternative energy project very feasible. The local utility is committed to working
with the project team to explore renewable energy options, help facilitate the
project, and possibly purchase energy produced at the site. This feasibility study will
enable the St. Bernard Parish and the St. Bernard Parish Economic Development Foundation to examine options for a renewable energy project and better market the site to potential developers.
EPA and NREL are collaborating to conduct a study on the potential for biopower power generation on the Former Kaiser Aluminum Landfill site. The feasibility study will evaluate the technical and economic opportunities and challenges at the site. It will:
- Provide a preliminary analysis of the viability of the site;
- Assess biopower potential;
- Identify possible facility type, size, and location; and
- Review the economics of the proposed facility.