RE-Powering America's Land:
Evaluating the Feasibility of Siting Renewable Energy Production
on Potentially Contaminated Land
Shawnee, Kansas
EPA/NREL Partnership
In September 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched the
RE-Powering America's Land: Siting Renewable Energy on Potentially Contaminated
Land and Mine Sites initiative. EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy's National
Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are collaborating on a project to evaluate the
feasibility of siting renewable energy production on potentially contaminated sites.
EPA has provided more than $650,000 through an interagency agreement that pairs
EPA's expertise on contaminated sites with NREL's expertise in renewable energy.
The project will analyze the feasibility of siting renewable energy on 12 sites across
the country. The analysis will include, among other things, the best renewable
energy technology for the site, the optimal area to locate the renewable energy
technology on the site, potential renewable energy generating capacity, the return
on investment, and the economic feasibility of the renewable energy projects. NREL
will also pursue an analysis to explore the potential for siting alternative fuel stations
(e.g., electric charging stations) at former gas station sites.
Doepke-Holliday Superfund Site
18181 West 53rd Street
Shawnee, Kansas
Site Facts:
Site type: Superfund
Renewable technology: Wind and solar
Generation potential: Utility scale and energy
for remediation
Contacts:
EPA Region 7
Shelley Brodie
brodie.shelley@epa.gov
(913)551-7706
National Renewable Energy Lab
Gail Mosey
gail.mosey@nrel.gov
(303) 384-7356
www.nrel.gov
Doepke-Holliday Site
The Doepke-Holliday Site includes a former municipal and industrial waste landfill
located on an 80 acre parcel of land on the southern bluffs of the Kansas River in
Shawnee, Kansas. The site initially operated as a residential trash disposal service
starting in 1952. During the 1950s and 1960s, it received residential, commercial and
industrial waste.The site closed in 1970 and was added to the EPA Superfund National Priorities List in 1983.
The selected Superfund site remedy, an impermeable multi-layered cap with geosynthetic components, was placed over the 38-
acre waste disposal area to prevent percolation and subsequent migration of contaminants. Construction began in 1995 and was
completed and approved by EPA in 1996. Monitoring at the site continues to evaluate the effectiveness of the cap. Because of the
cap, the reuse of the site is limited and the site is not currently contributing to the local economy to the extent that it could be.
Feasibility Study: Fall 2009-Summer 2010
NREL is conducting a study on the potential for both wind and solar power generation on the Doepke-Holliday site. The feasibility
study will evaluate the technical and economic opportunities and challenges at the site. It will:
Provide a preliminary analysis of the viability of the site;
Assess wind and solar resource availability;
Identify possible system size, design and location; and
Review the economics of the proposed system.
For more information, visit www.epa.gov/renewableenergyland or contact cleanenergy@epa.gov
&ER
U.S. EPA OSWER
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