Annapolis Set to Soak up Sun
The future for the region’s energy needs is being built upon the trash heaps of our past.
This week, Annapolis Mayor Michael Pantelides signed a 20-year lease for Annapolis Solar Park, giving the green light to build an 80-acre solar project at the site of a closed and capped landfill in Anne Arundel County.
The project, a joint effort of Annapolis Solar Park, BQ Energy and Building Energy Development, will be operational by the end of next year and is anticipated to generate more than $5 million in revenue to the city over the course of the lease.
“We are turning what was a liability into an asset,” said Pantelides. “This park will turn a large plot of unused land into a revenue generator and a job creator.”
Project leaders estimated that the local labor force will be tapped to fill maintenance and operations positions at the solar farm.
Project Manager Ted Siomporas was succinct in summarizing the long route the county took to get to this point: “We were told to keep it simple, go straight forward and make it happen.”
All investments will be made by the consortium of private developers, who will then sell the electricity to the city at a deep discount. Once completed, the site will be one of the largest solar landfill projects in the world.