RE-Powering America's Land: Bourne, Falmouth, sandwich,
Evaluating the Feasibility of Siting Renewable Energy Production and MashPee' Massachusetts
on Potentially Contaminated Land
Massachusetts Military Reservation
Bourne, Falmouth,
Sandwich & Mashpee, Massachusetts
Site Facts:
Site type: RCRA Landfill
Renewable technology: Solar
Generation potential: Energy for remediation
Contacts:
EPA Region 1
Paul Marchessault
marchessault.paul@epa.gov
(617)918-1388
National Renewable Energy Lab
Gail Mosey
gail.mosey@nrel.gov
(303) 384-7356
www.nrel.gov
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 provide site-specific analysis to evaluate the feasibility of siting renewable
energy on 12 selected EPA-tracked sites. 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.
Massachusetts Military Reservation Site
The Massachusetts Military Reservation is a 22,000-acre military base located in the
Towns of Bourne, Falmouth, Sandwich and Mashpee. As part of anon-going site
remediation, eight groundwater pump and treatment systems are operating at a
total production rate of 15 million gallons per day. The electricity to power these
systems costs over $2 million per year.
To off-set the high energy costs and to help meet the federal mandate under Executive Order 13423, to achieve greater energy
efficiency and use renewable energy at federal facilities, the Air Force Center for Energy and the Environment (AFCEE) has installed
a 1.5 megawatt wind turbine. This turbine generates approximately 30% of the energy needed to operate the groundwater pump
and treatment system.
AFCEE is also investigating other opportunities for on-site generated renewable energy, including installing solar panels at an
existing 100-acre landfill, of which 60 acres consists of a RCRA Subtitle C landfill cap. An added benefit would be the use of a large
parcel of land with otherwise limited reuse potential.
Feasibility Study: 2010
NREL is conducting a study to analyze the viability of developing solar at the Massachusetts site. The study will address the
following:
Technical feasibility: Usable acreage, potential impacts on landfill cap (e.g. anchoring and loading), operations and
maintenance requirements, control mechanisms, grid tie-in, options, etc.
Regulatory feasibility: Approval process, permits, compliance with the Record of Decision goals and requirements, etc.
Financial feasibility: Cost/benefit, return on investment, available incentives/rebates/stimulus (timeframe of their
availability), etc.
For more information, visit www.epa.gov/renewableenergyland or contact cleanenergy@epa.gov
&ER
U.S. EPA OSWER
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