ELKTON, Md. — A contaminated site in Elkton that was once considered unusable is now generating clean energy for Maryland families through an innovative solar project.
Fifteen hundred solar panels now cover a remote piece of land along the Little Elk Creek, transforming what was once one of the most contaminated sites in Maryland into a source of renewable energy.
From 1962 to 1988, a solvent recycling facility operated at this location. In 1989, the owner abandoned the property, leaving more than half a million gallons of hazardous waste in over 1,100 drums and tanks, according to Dave Fennimore, project coordinator.
Solar farm transforms former Superfund site in Elkton
Some of those containers leaked into the nearby Little Elk Creek. The Environmental Protection Agency eventually declared it a Superfund site and ordered its cleanup.
While the site remains unsafe for residential development or children's activities, existing power lines provided CleanCapital with a unique opportunity to repurpose the land.
"We can re-use those wires and the land itself. Solar energy is just perfect sitting on top. We don't even penetrate the ground. We have what's called a ballasted foundation, which means our solar panels sit on concrete blocks and it can operate here forever," Paul Curran, CleanCapital chief development officer, said.
To maximize energy production in the limited space, crews painted the ground white. This allows the panels to capture energy not only from direct sunlight hitting the tops but also from light reflecting off the white surface below.
The solar installation will produce just under a megawatt of electricity per year, helping 100 low-to-moderate income families save on their energy bills.
Curran noted the broader potential for similar projects across the country.
"Unfortunately, there's brownfields in every corner of every state. The EPA has a list of about 450,000 brownfield sites around the country. We can't do all of them, but a site like this is certainly worth celebrating and something certainly worth replicating as well," Curran said.
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