Solar Could Turn Old Industrial Sites from Brownfield to ‘Brightfield’

They’re the ugliest ducklings in the land development inventory: brownfield properties that once housed heavy industrial facilities that have been shuttered or demolished. A post on Greentech Media argues that they could also be a “shining opportunity” for the solar industry.

Brownfields’ industrial legacy—often including the presence of toxic compounds in their soils —has made them less desirable for residential or commercial development. But they have advantages as locations for solar energy capture.

“Former industrial sites are frequently cleared of their above-ground structures during environmental remediation,” Greentech notes, “providing large, flat, and unshaded areas ideal for PV systems. Substantial electricity grid infrastructure suitable for low-cost interconnection is often close to the site and, in many cases, brownfields are nearby other energy-intensive consumers like refrigerated warehouses or factories.” Brownfields may also be subject to development incentives offered by U.S. federal, state, and local governments.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has inventoried more than 80,000 brownfield and contaminated sites suitable for renewable energy development, while the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found some 15 million acres of American land available to be repurposed as “brightfields.” That expanse includes “10,000 closed and capped landfills under public and private ownership [that] have few complementary uses and little or no long-term income potential for owners.”

There are hazards to “brightfield” development, mainly to do with more complex environmental permitting related to potential contamination. “Appropriate risk tolerance and proper mitigation strategies are key,” Greentech Media warns. “But an informed developer can reap ample rewards by tackling this complex and underserved market segment.”