Cuyahoga County, Cleveland Public Power and IGS Solar will begin construction this month on one of the most innovative solar arrays installed in Ohio, which will provide clean energy for decades to come. Working with Enerlogics and McDonald Hopkins as developers of the project, the team plans for the array to be online summer of 2018 and create over 5,000,000 kWh of electricity per year.
The solar array consists of 35,520 panels and will be constructed on approximately 17 acres of a 75-acre landfill site located in Brooklyn, Ohio. Sized at approximately 4 MWdc, the array will be large enough to supply approximately 5% of the electricity consumption for 16 county-owned commercial buildings.
It will be one of the largest solar arrays built in Ohio and will offer many economic benefits to Cuyahoga County. The county could save as much as $3 million on utility bills over the next 25 years through the solar agreement. The array will be built on an otherwise unproductive landfill site, and the 20-year land lease will help the city of Brooklyn offset maintenance costs of approximately $400,000 over the course of the next 20 years.
Cuyahoga County will purchase 100% of the power generated through a long-term PPA with Cleveland Public Power (CPP), which will purchase the power from IGS Solar. A 20-year lease was signed for IGS Solar to utilize the land. Cuyahoga County will have the opportunity to purchase the system before the end of the initial 10-year PPA term, if desired.
The array will use First Solar thin-film modules and RBI Solar ballasted racking, both made in Ohio.
Nearly all the product and labor involved in the engineering, design and installation has been/will be performed by highly-skilled Ohio-based residents, which was a main priority for the county. The development and construction of the array has been expected to sustain approximately 100 jobs in the region.
IGS Solar, a turn-key commercial and residential solar provider based in Columbus, Ohio, will own, operate and maintain the array that will help integrate solar energy into the county’s energy portfolio, while helping to better control the long-term energy costs for their county-owned buildings.
According to Patrick Smith, vice president of IGS Solar, this project is a testament to the creativity and commitment that Ohioans have for building a sustainable future. “We hope that opportunities for solar in Ohio continue to grow, and that this project is a shining example of what is possible,” he said. “Working with Cuyahoga County and the local teams to design this project that will help control the county’s energy costs using this renewable energy source, has been a great success. We look forward to being a long-standing sustainability partner to them well into the future.”
Sustainability is layered into the county’s long-term, strategic plan, as it believes a sustainable region focused on fighting climate change, is critical to keeping the region thriving.
“This solar array will enable the county to continue to contain long-term energy costs for our facilities, while also supporting renewable energy development,” stated Mike Foley, director of the Department of Sustainability for Cuyahoga County. “With the current challenges around our state’s renewable energy initiatives, we believe the obligation is in the hands of the local governments and private industry to do the right thing when it comes to sustainability.”
There are currently 70 other closed and capped landfills that the county views as other potential sites for development, as it develops potential plans to replicate this project model in the future.
“This project is the culmination of a cooperative effort among Cuyahoga County, Cleveland Public Power, the Cities of Cleveland and Brooklyn, Enerlogics, McDonald Hopkins, the Ohio EPA and IGS Solar,” added Foley. “Working with these expert partners to turn a brownfield site into productive land and generate renewable energy has been nothing short of remarkable. It’s been an extraordinary journey and we are all very excited about this project.”
News item from IGS Energy
Tell Us What You Think!