17-Acre Solar Panel Array Installed In Brooklyn, Ohio

BROOKLYN, OH — More than 35,000 solar panels have been built on 17 acres of a landfill site in Brooklyn. The array should generate more than 5 million kilowatts of electricity per year, the city said.

The newly completed array is powerful enough to provide 5 percent of the energy to 16 county buildings. That's actually the equivalent of 500 residential homes, the city said.

The panels had to be built on non-contaminated, closed and capped landfills. To preserve the integrity of the landfill cap, construction crews could not do much below-surface work at the landfill site. Instead, the solar panels were installed using a ballasted solar racking system, where the panels and their supports are resting on concrete blocks.

Cuyahoga County believes this is the first project of its kind in the state. It is certainly one of the largest solar installation on a landfill in Ohio. The Brooklyn landfill consumes about 75-acres of otherwise unproductive land. The solar panels take back about 17 acres of that.

The county and the city agreed on a 20-year land lease for the array. Brooklyn will be responsible for annual maintenance costs, which will be about $400,000. The lease agreement should help offset some of those costs, the county said.

County officials believe they can save as much as $3 million on utility bills over the next 25 years through the solar agreement. That's because 100 percent of the power being generated by the installation will go to Cuyahoga County.

“I’m excited by the completion of this innovative project and proud of our Department of Sustainability for developing and executing it,” said Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish. “We are growing renewable energy production in Northeast Ohio, partnering with the City of Brooklyn to increase economic and environmental benefits for county residents, and saving money. Our county is committed to more projects like this one. The solar landfill installation, which is one of the largest in the State of Ohio, will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and develop our clean energy economy into the future. It is crucial that local governments take action to help solve our global issue – climate change.”

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