Montgomery County announced this week that it will turn part of a former landfill into clean energy for low-to-moderate income households and County government.
Through a partnership with Ameresco, 16 acres of County-owned land at the former Oaks Landfill will be used for three community solar arrays totaling 6 megawatts. One array will provide energy to the County at no upfront cost, while the other two will generate power for low-to-moderate income households at a 25 percent discount off the tariff rate.
From the press release:
Ameresco will finance, design, construct, own and operate all of the facilities.
“This public-private energy-saving initiative prioritizes renewable energy and wisely leverages underutilized public land to benefit a number of County interests,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “This agreement accelerates our environmental goals, lowers energy costs for hard-working families and places solar panels on brownfields, which should be the priority siting areas. The project provides residents unable to install solar on their own property with an opportunity to directly benefit from a shared solar power source.”
The project furthers the County’s commitment to clean energy and emission reduction. Earlier this week the County released its Draft Climate Action Plan that aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2027 and by 100 percent by 2035.
Useful Links:
Conduit Street: Montgomery Releases Draft Climate Action Plan
