Success Stories - Siting Renewable Energy on Contaminated Land
Fort Carson, Colorado
Former Landfill Becomes Home to the Army's Largest Solar Array
Site Description
Fort Carson is a U.S. Army installation located immediately south
of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado. In addition to
training facilities comprising 137,000 acres, the fort is home to
11,000 people.
Property History
The site, a 15-acre former landfill, operational from 1965 to 1973,
contains mostly construction debris and is regulated as a solid
waste management unit as part of Fort Carson's permit with the
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Without
costly excavation, capping or extensive cleanup, reuse options for
the site were limited.
Renewable Energy Development
This project reflects Fort Carson's initiative to power all its
facilities with renewable energy by 2027. Because of its restricted
use, the landfill site was an ideal candidate for the solar array. In
2007, the site was prepared for the solar facility by installing a
four-foot-thick earthen envirotranspiration cover, and revegetated
with drought-resistant prairie grass.
The two-megawatt, ground-mounted solar PV facility covers 12
acres and is the largest solar array built at a US Army facility.
The photovoltaic array consists of flat-plate, thin-film solar
technology provided by First Solar, an Arizona company. The
solar modules will produce energy efficiently for 40 years. The
array will generate 3,200 megawatt-hours of power annually,
enough to supply 2.3 percent of Fort Carson's energy
consumption, the equivalent of 540 homes.
Seven public and private entities worked together to bring the
idea to life. Fort Carson leased the land for the system to
developers. The Western Area Power Administration (DOE)
wrote two contracts under its power marketing authority to allow
Fort Carson to purchase power from the array as supplemental
energy at a low fixed cost for 20 years. Project partners 3 Phases
Energy Services, MS Greenrock and SunTechnics developed,
financed and installed the photovoltaic (PV) array.
Colorado Springs Utilities, the local area power provider,
monitors and maintains the solar PV system. Project developer 3
Phases Energy will sell Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) for the
solar energy produced at the site to Denver's utility company,
Xcel Energy, under the investor-owned utility's Solar Rewards
program. Xcel will then apply the RECs in compliance with
Colorado's Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS). The
Colorado RPS requires utilities to obtain 10% of their electricity
from renewable sources by 2015, and 20% by 2020.
QUICK FACTS:
Location:
Property Size:
Site Ownership:
Project Type:
Former Use:
Contaminants:
Type of RE:
Project Cost:
Key Partners:
Current Status:
EPA Region 8, El Paso County, CO
15 Acres
Federal—U.S. Army
State Solid Waste Management Unit
Decommissioned Landfill
Construction waste, groundwater
contamination
Solar PV
$13 million
US Army; Western Area Power
Authority (DOE); 3 Phases Energy
Services, LLC; Sun Technics, Inc.;
MS Greenrock, LLC; Xcel Energy,
Colorado Springs Utilities
Solar array completed 2008; currently
generating power
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS:
The 2 MW, 12-acre facility is the largest solar array
built at a U.S. Army facility.
Project will generate 3,200 MWh of electricity annually,
enough to power 540 homes.
Through a power-purchase agreement, Colorado
Springs Utilities maintains the solar PV facility and
provides Ft. Carson with lower-cost electricity in return
for leasing the site.
Fort Carson will save $500,000 in energy costs over
the life of its 20-year contract with the utility.
,• • .*.. i : i • : i .*.. i i m 1 I • • v'- •
U.S. EPA OSWER
W;71HI»fl'Ii'T«WTT',HjnVH
CONTACT: Fort Carson Sustainability Planner, Fort Carson Environmental Compliance Division, (719) 526-9777
To learn more about siting renewable energy on contaminated land, visit: www.epa.gov/renewableenergyland
------- |