First Solar Landfill For New York State
A 2.3 MW solar array will be built in West Nyack, and will be the first landfill with a solar plant in the state of New York. OnForce Solar will own the project and operate the plant. The six million dollar bill will be covered by the company, too. Over the course of its lifetime, the clean power plant is expected to save taxpayers about $4 million dollars. (The West Nyack landfill is capped and has been decommissioned.)
CEO of OnForce Solar, Charles Feit, remarked, “We are gratified the Town selected OnForce Solar to execute this project from a very strong list of competitors through a rigorous vendor selection process. Repurposing the closed West Nyack Landfill to create clean energy is a precedent setting project for the State of New York and we expect will act as a catalyst for further development of landfills across the state.”
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) also provided financial support for the project. Clarkstown, New York will use electricity generated by the new plant when it is completed in the fall of 2014.
Repurposing a landfill almost sounds like an oxymoron because such a facility is full of what was thrown away. Turning a landfill into a solar power plant is creative, and serves an example to us of how its our thinking that sometimes locks us into limiting beliefs. The New York Power Authority (NYPA) is preparing a white paper to help other municipalities develop their own solar power plants.
Clarkstown is one of about 600 cities and towns to sign the United States Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement to reduce CO2 emissions. The 84,000 resident town is located about 34 miles northwest of New York City
OnForce Solar has headquarters in the Bronx and offices in Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Vermont. It was founded in 2007 and is the only solar company in the Bronx.
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