NEW HANOVER COUNTY — A plan to generate clean energy at a former asbestos waste site in the county’s landfall is being scaled back in the short-term, but a separate plan to install rooftop solar at a nearby wastewater plant is projected to be complete in 2025.
READ MORE: Turning wasteland to energy: New Hanover County plans solar farm in landfill
New Hanover County’s recycling and waste management director Joe Suleyman initiated the idea of installing a solar farm at the county-owned landfill off Highway 421 almost two years ago. The county entered a $47,000 contract with CDM Smith to design the facility, which was initially planned on a roughly 3-acre portion of the property previously used for asbestos waste.
The waste management director told Port City Daily last January he hoped to find a contractor for the project by June 30, 2024. In a November email, Assistant County Manager Jessica Loeper told commissioners Suleyman and CDM Smith determined additional investment — around $3 million — would be necessary to make the project viable.
Instead, the county is pursuing a short-term and long-term approach to implement solar power in the landfill. Firstly, the county will install panels on roughly 2,000-square-foot portion of the county-owned reverse osmosis wastewater treatment plant rooftop.
The county put the project out for bid last month. It requires the contractor to install sufficient panel capacity to generate 850 kilowatt-hours annually; Loeper said the county expects it to generate approximately 25 kilowatts to the county’s energy portfolio by the end of 2025.
The project is much smaller than the original plan to generate between 500 kilowatts and two megawatts of power; one megawatt can power around 400 to 1,000 homes, depending on energy use, whereas 25 kilowatts is enough to power roughly one average sized-home.
Vendors must have experience with Duke Energy’s application process for interconnections with nonprofit, non-residential solar systems. Duke is North Carolina’s investor-owned monopoly utility; customers in the state are barred from directly purchasing energy from other providers.
The rooftop project will connect to Duke’s grid through North Carolina’s net-metering arrangement, which provides credits and reduced costs to customers for excess energy contributions.
In March 2023, the Utilities Commission approved Duke’s request to reduce credits on rooftop solar users from contributions to the grid. In a February SEC filing, Duke admitted expanding distributed energy — such as rooftop solar and storage — could threaten revenue it charges to its ratepayers.
In the long-term, the county plans to fulfill its original goal of a larger-scale solar farm in 2026. Loeper anticipated the county would need to increase its capital fund to $3 million to install electrical infrastructure to facilitate the project — which would generate an estimated two megawatts of power for the county’s direct use — including powering the wastewater reverse osmosis system.
Port City Daily reached out to Suleyman to ask for more details about the landfill solar project, such as if a contractor had been selected for the short-term effort, the estimated total cost of both initiatives, and if the county would own the solar facilities, but did not receive a response by press.
Suleyman told Port City Daily last January the solar farm developer would lease county land at the landfill and own the solar infrastructure for about 20 years until the developer’s investment terms are paid. Afterward, the county would own the solar farm.
The county’s landfill has roughly 28 years until the end of its life cycle — when it exceeds its designed and permitted capacity. Afterward, it must go into a 30-year post-closure process to monitor wastewater and natural gas generation.
At the end of the post-closure process, the county must demonstrate the landfill’s status to the state. It is then eligible to transition to alternative uses, such as green space; in 60 years, the county plans to turn it into a nature park.
Tips or comments? Email journalist Peter Castagno at peter@localdailymedia.com.
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