RE-Powering America's Land:
Siting Renewable Energy on Potentially Contaminated Land and Mine Sites
                    Mapping Tools
What is the RE-Powering America's Land initiative?
Demand for renewable energy is increasing in the United States. However,
renewable energy facilities often require large amounts of land and could
contribute to energy sprawl if developed on greenfield sites. Through its
RE-Powering America's Land: Siting Renewable Energy on Poten tially Con taminated
Land and Mine Sites initiative, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
identified more than 11,000 EPA tracked sites and nearly 15 million acres that have
potential for developing solar, wind, biomass and geothermal facilities. Using
potentially contaminated land and mine sites to develop renewable energy facilities
can preserve greenfields; provide developers with access to existing infrastructure;
create jobs; and enable potentially contaminated property to return to a productive
and sustainable use.

What mapping tools are available to identify sites with renewable
energy potential?
EPA has developed a collection of mapping tools to help identify potentially
contaminated land and mine sites with renewable energy potential, such as:
•  Google Earth interactive mapping tool - Search for potential sites in a particular
  area or across the country by renewable energy technology or type of
  contaminated site. See the site's location, acreage, resource availability, cleanup
  status and EPA contact. View site attributes such as nearby roads and buildings.
•  Searchable data spreadsheet and shapefile- View all of the data collected on
  potentially contaminated land with renewable energy potential in a spreadsheet
  format and upload it into other applications. Allows sorting by any category,
  including state, renewable energy technology and acreage.
•  National and state renewable energy maps -See the number of sites
  with renewable energy potential at the national and state level in a
  map format.
•  Data guidelines -  Review the methodology, data sources, screening criteria and
  key considerations used in the mapping analyses.
EPA has developed additional tools, such as: fact sheets on federal and state financial
incentives; success stories of projects where renewable energy facilities have been
sited on contaminated land; and information on liability relief and other redevelopment considerations.
        Renewable Energy
      Technologies Analyzed
Solar
   Utility scale concentrating solar power (CSP)
   Utility scale photovoltaic (PV)
   PV policy driven
   Non-grid connected PV

Wind
   Utility scale wind
   Community wind
   Non-grid connected wind

Biomass
   Biopower facility
   Biorefinery facility
   Landfill gas energy project

Geothermal
   Flash power plant
   Binary power plant
   Geothermal heat pump
      Example national renewable energy map
                                        Screenshots from the Google Earth interactive mapping tool
     For more information, visit www.epa.gov/renewableenergyland or contact cleanenergy@epa.gov

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