PVOne LLC, a developer and financer of large-scale solar power systems, is developing a ‘brownfields to brightfields’ project poised to be the largest photovoltaic array in Florida and among the largest in the Southeast United States. The project should be operational in the second quarter of 2007.
The 250-KW PV system will be located at Rothenbach Park in Sarasota County, FL, on the site of the former Bee Ridge Landfill. Covering an area of 28,000 square feet, the solar system will use 1,200 PV panels connected to the grid.
PVOne negotiated the site lease with Sarasota County officials, and a Green Solar Tag Agreement for installation of the PV system. PVOne also brought together experienced industry and financial partners to develop the first solar energy system under Florida’s Sunshine Energy Program, a voluntary green power program offered to residential and commercial customers who want to support cleaner, renewable electric generation. PowerLight Corporation, a subsidiary of SunPower Corporation, will work with PVOne to deploy the solar power system, and provide operation and maintenance services; third-party financing will be used to finance the $2.5 million ‘brownfields to brightfields’ project.
There are more than 365,000 brownfields in the U.S. that are stabilized and ready for benign development, but municipalities are often at a loss for environmentally sensitive ways to make these sites productive again. According to Kaizer, brownfields represent ideal locations for the installation of solar energy systems due to their proximity to distribution lines and the absence of shading obstructions. An innovative method developed by PowerLight ensures that the photovoltaic panels are securely installed without penetrating the protective clay cap encasing the contents of the landfill – often situated just 18 inches below the surface.
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