EcoWatch
Facebook 558k Twitter 222k Instagram 52k Subscribe Subscribe
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Conservation
  • Food + Agriculture
  • Renewables
  • Oceans
  • Policy
  • Insights + Opinion
  • Go Solar Today
      • Top Companies By State
        • California Solar Companies
        • Texas Solar Companies
        • New York Solar Companies
        • Florida Solar Companies
        • See All States
      • Top Incentives By State
        • California Solar Incentives
        • Texas Solar Incentives
        • New York Solar Incentives
        • Florida Solar Incentives
        • See All States
      • Solar Panel Costs By State
        • Solar Panel Costs in California
        • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
        • Solar Panel Costs in New York
        • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
        • See All States
      • Value of Solar by State
        • Is Solar Worth It In California?
        • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
        • Is Solar Worth It New York?
        • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
        • See All States
      • Company Reviews
        • Tesla Solar Review
        • Sunrun Solar Review
        • SunPower Solar Review
        • Vivint Solar Review
        • See All Companies
      • Common Solar Questions
        • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
        • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
        • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
        • Can You Finance Solar?
        • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
        • Payback On Solar Panels?
      • Solar Resources
        • Interactive Solar Calculator
        • Federal Solar Tax Credit
        • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
        • Tesla Solar Roof Review
        • Cheapest Solar Panels
      • Companies Compared
        • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs SunPower
        • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
        • SunPower vs ADT Solar
EcoWatch
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Conservation
  • Food + Agriculture
  • Renewables
  • Oceans
  • Policy
  • Insights + Opinion
  • Go Solar Today
    • Go Solar Today
    • Top Companies By State
      • California Solar Companies
      • Texas Solar Companies
      • New York Solar Companies
      • Florida Solar Companies
      • See All States
    • Top Incentives By State
      • California Solar Incentives
      • Texas Solar Incentives
      • New York Solar Incentives
      • Florida Solar Incentives
      • See All States
    • Solar Panel Costs By State
      • Solar Panel Costs in California
      • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
      • Solar Panel Costs in New York
      • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
      • See All States
    • Value of Solar by State
      • Is Solar Worth It In California?
      • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
      • Is Solar Worth It New York?
      • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
      • See All States
    • Company Reviews
      • Tesla Solar Review
      • Sunrun Solar Review
      • SunPower Solar Review
      • Vivint Solar Review
      • See All Companies
    • Common Solar Questions
      • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
      • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
      • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
      • Can You Finance Solar?
      • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
      • Payback On Solar Panels?
    • Solar Resources
      • Interactive Solar Calculator
      • Federal Solar Tax Credit
      • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
      • Tesla Solar Roof Review
      • Cheapest Solar Panels
    • Companies Compared
      • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs SunPower
      • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
      • SunPower vs ADT Solar

The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 558k Twitter 222k Instagram 52k
    EcoWatch
    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 558k Twitter 222k Instagram 52k
    Home Energy

    Toxic Landfills Across the U.S. Could Get Second Lives as Solar Farms

    By: Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
    Published: October 25, 2022
    Edited by Chris McDermott
    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon
    More than 7,000 solar panels cover the Hickory Ridge Landfill in Atlanta, Georgia
    More than 7,000 solar panels cover the Hickory Ridge Landfill in Atlanta, Georgia. Jeff Greenberg / Education Images / Universal Images Group via Getty Images
    Why you can trust us

    Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

    As pollution, heatwaves, flooding and habitat destruction worsen worldwide, humans are coming up with more creative solutions to battle the climate crisis.

    An example of this is the increasing number of landfill sites across the U.S. that are being repurposed as solar farms.

    A landfill is a toxic disposal site for solid waste covered in layers of dirt — an example of human excess and the rampant polluting of our planet.

    When grass has begun to grow on a landfill, it can look green and lush, but landfills have been categorized as “brownfields” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, contaminated sites that are a danger to the environment, too unhealthy and unstable to be developed.

    According to “The Future of Landfills is Bright,” a report from nonprofit clean energy organization RMI, 113 landfill-to-solar projects with a one megawatt or greater capacity have been built in the U.S. Together, these projects are responsible for 428 megawatts of solar capacity.

    More From EcoWatch
    • What Is The Best Solar Company In California?
    • What Is The Cost For A Tesla Solar Battery?
    • Calculate How Much Solar Can Save You With Our Solar Calculator

    A megawatt equals 1,000 kilowatts. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, the average annual electricity consumption for a U.S. household is about 7,200 kilowatt-hours.

    A report from RMI and the World Resources Institute said 21 landfill solar projects across the U.S. generated 207 megawatts of energy last year.

    The largest landfill-to-solar project in the U.S. is being developed 17 miles south of Houston, Texas, in the predominantly-Black Sunnyside neighborhood, reported Vox.

    The finished project will cover 240 acres of former landfill and power about 5,000 homes per year, according to Time.

    Historically, landfills in the U.S. have often been placed in mostly-Black areas, another example of the country’s environmental injustice. 

    “For 40 to 50 years, white Americans came here and dumped on Black Americans,” said president of local community development nonprofit South Union CDC Efrem Jernigan, who is a lifelong resident of Sunnyside, as Vox reported.

    Once a landfill like the one in Sunnyside is decommissioned, it becomes a blight to the community, wasted space that could emit toxic pollutants if punctured by building or not properly capped.

    According to one of the authors of “The Future of Landfills is Bright,” Matthew Popkin, who is a manager in the urban transformation program at RMI, building solar panels on former landfills is safe because they are able to be built on concrete ballasts that won’t disrupt the dirt cap.

    Just in case, the solar farm in Sunnyside will have environmental sensors around its perimeter in case of any leaks.

    Local communities are more in charge of how landfills are reused, since they are under the ownership and control of municipalities.

    “It was usually people who were disadvantaged who didn’t have a say in what went in their backyard,” said Popkin, as reported by Vox.

    “There’s an opportunity here for partially correcting some environmental injustices,” Popkin said. “[I]t can be part of a broader revitalization strategy.”

    Over 4,300 landfills in the U.S. were identified by Popkin and co-author Akshay Krishnan as being promising locations for landfill solar projects that could end up generating 63.2 gigawatts of power annually, enough to power 7.8 million homes. (A gigawatt equals 1,000,000 kilowatts.)

    About two megawatts of the 50 total the Sunnyside solar project will generate will be put into a community solar project that could help lower the costs of electricity for Sunnyside residents. 

    There will also be a 150-megawatt storage facility for excess solar power to be used when needed to help prevent blackouts.

    Additionally, Sunnyside residents will have the opportunity to enroll in a solar installation training program offered every quarter.

    The Inflation Reduction Act includes tax breaks for “energy communities” to be developed through clean energy projects in low-income areas and brownfields, plus millions of dollars in funding.

    “Suddenly, you have a national incentive to build these projects,” said Popkin, as Vox reported.

    Popkin expressed hope that the solar project’s economic upsides will benefit the community, rather than leading to gentrification.

    “I am optimistic about the future of this land and the people who live in the resilient neighborhood that developed around this environmental injustice,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, according to a press release from the Houston Mayor’s Office. “Most importantly, it will transform the built environment of a historically under-served and under-resourced community by bringing private investment to Sunnyside, a predominantly Black and brown community that struggles daily with historical inequities that have created present-day disparities.”

    Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

      By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

      Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

      Cristen is a writer of fiction and nonfiction. She holds a JD and an Ocean & Coastal Law Certificate from University of Oregon School of Law and an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London. She is the author of the short story collection The Smallest of Entryways, as well as the travel biography, Ernest’s Way: An International Journey Through Hemingway’s Life.
      Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

      Read More

      Renewables Helped Prevent Blackouts on New England's Hottest Day This Summer
      Renewable energy sources, such as solar power and battery storage,
      By Paige Bennett
      Extreme Weather Is Now Normal Weather in the UK: Met Office Report
      Extreme heat, excessive rainfall, ongoing droughts — these conditions are
      By Paige Bennett
      Melting Glaciers Could Lead to More Frequent and Explosive Volcanic Eruptions: Study
      Ice loss from melting glaciers around the world due to
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

      Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

        By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

        Latest Articles

        • Renewables Helped Prevent Blackouts on New England’s Hottest Day This Summer
          by Paige Bennett
          July 18, 2025
        • South Korea Could Grant Bottlenose Dolphins off Jeju Island ‘Legal Personhood’ Status to Better Protect Them
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          July 17, 2025
        • 20 States Sue Trump Administration for Slashing FEMA Disaster Mitigation Program
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          July 16, 2025
        • Scientists Find First Evidence of Auditory Interaction Between Animals and Plants: Study
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          July 15, 2025
        • What Mountains Provide and Why They Need Protection
          by Olivia Rosane
          July 15, 2025
        • Extreme Weather Is Now Normal Weather in the UK: Met Office Report
          by Paige Bennett
          July 14, 2025
        • Climate Change Degrades Nutritional Value of Crops, Study Finds
          by Paige Bennett
          July 11, 2025
        • Millions of Tons of Tiny Plastic Particles Are Polluting the Ocean, Study Finds
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          July 10, 2025
        EcoWatch

        The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

          • Climate Climate
          • Animals Animals
          • Health + Wellness Health + Wellness
          • Insights + Opinion Insights + Opinion
          • Adventure Adventure
          • Oceans Oceans
          • Business Business
          • Solar Solar
          • About EcoWatch
          • Contact EcoWatch
          • EcoWatch Reviews
          • Terms of Use
          • Privacy Policy
          • Learn About Solar Energy
          • Learn About Deregulated Energy
          • EcoWatch UK
          Follow Us
          Facebook 558k
          Twitter 222k
          Instagram 52k
          Subscribe Subscribe

          Experts for a healthier planet and life.

          Mentioned by:
          Learn more
          • Privacy Policy
          • Terms of Use
          • Cookie Preferences
          • Do Not Sell My Information
          © 2025 EcoWatch. All Rights Reserved.

          Advertiser Disclosure

          Our editorial team is committed to creating independent and objective content focused on helping our readers make informed decisions. To help support these efforts we receive compensation from companies that advertise with us.

          The compensation we receive from these companies may impact how and where products appear on this site. This compensation does not influence the recommendations or advice our editorial team provides within our content. We do not include all companies, products or offers that may be available.