Owner/Client
City of Brooklyn, Ohio
Location
Brooklyn, OH
CEC Services
- Construction Quality Assurance
- Landfill Design and Permitting
- As-built Surveys
Owner Objective
The City of Brooklyn, Ohio operated a 40-acre unlined municipal solid waste landfill near a residential subdivision from 1989 to 2009, which was capped in 2015 in accordance with an Ohio EPA Director’s Final Findings and Orders (DFFO). The City had been evaluating development opportunities for use of the 40-acre landfill area since the final closure in December 2015.
A solar power generation system producing approximately 12-MW of solar output was proposed for the landfill and a series of solar panel arrays was proposed to be installed on the existing landfill cap. The solar array project (a.k.a. Cuyahoga Urban Renewable Project) provides an alternative energy source over property that would normally remain undeveloped. The construction of the solar panel arrays is proposed in phases to allow for an initial layout over approximately 20 acres of the landfill producing approximately 4-MW of solar output. Phase I was installed from April through August 2018. Additional phases will be constructed as appropriate to cover the remaining areas of the landfill, producing approximately 8-MW of additional solar output.
CEC Approach
The landfill entered post-closure on December 17, 2015. In April 2018, CEC prepared the Rule 13 Authorization Application requesting to develop solar power generation with the installation of solar panel arrays. The Ohio EPA approved the Rule 13 Authorization in May 2018.
The solar panel arrays were constructed on foundation blocks resting on the landfill cap, which consists of a 33-inch thick re-compacted soil barrier and three-inch thick vegetative cover, so as not to penetrate the landfill cap. The solar panel arrays also avoid other features located on the landfill including the perimeter road, leachate manhole, and passive gas ventilation system.
CEC provided construction quality assurance oversight along with the City of Brooklyn personnel. Construction of the solar panel arrays began in April 2018 and was completed in August 2018. CEC prepared the certification report for the construction activities.
