Baltimore County recently celebrated the completion of its first large-scale ground-mounted solar array on the 213-acre closed landfill.
Last week, County Executive Kathy Klausmeier celebrated the completion of Baltimore County government’s first large-scale ground-mounted solar array on the 213-acre closed Parkton Landfill site. It is expected to lower the County’s electricity costs over the long term, reduce its carbon emissions and repurpose an underutilized site for beneficial reuse.
The project will account for about 11 percent of the County government’s annual electricity consumption, lowering current and future energy costs.
The projected first-year annual electricity production is 8,220,710 kilowatt hours. According to the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Equivalencies Calculator, this expected solar generation will reduce the equivalent GHG emissions of:
- 621,480 gallons of gasoline consumed
- 1,151 homes electricity usage for one year
- 14,064,876 miles driven by an average gasoline-powered passenger vehicle
The seven-megawatt system project consists of four large-scale arrays featuring a total of 15,000 ballasted ground-mounted photovoltaic panels.
Through a power-purchase agreement with Total Energies, who owns and operates the system, the County has locked in reduced electricity costs, which will insulate the County from escalating electricity costs for the entire 25-year contract term with renewal options up to 33 years.
Upon the anticipated completion of the Hernwood Landfill ground-mounted solar project by 2028, the County expects to generate an equivalent of 55% of its electricity production from renewable power.
