1. Could solar farms turn dormant
landfill sites into valuable asset for
energy production?
Background
The 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive sets a target for the UK to achieve 15% of its energy consumption
from renewable sources by 2020. The Government plans to meet this target by encouraging the construction
of additional renewable energy sites, but finding suitable land for development has been challenging. There
are at least 20,000 historic landfills in the UK, and although many of these have already been developed,
there may be opportunities for installing solar farms on some of them in order to help meet renewable energy
targets which benefit both the country and the landfill operators.
Objectives
• Identify the drivers and barriers involved in establishing solar farms on closed landfills
• Map landfills where solar farms are already installed (or being installed)
• Assess the financial implications of installing a solar farm on a closed landfill
Approach
In order to meet the objectives we undertook several interlinked investigations:
• Utilising GIS tools to locate current landfills to identify sites suitable for solar farm installation
• Investigating the physical structure and regulatory requirements of landfills to identify criteria which
require special consideration during the design and construction of a solar installation
• Reviewing available and potential solar technologies and installation techniques to make appropriate
recommendations for solar farms on landfills
• Developing a Cost-Benefit-Analysis tool to model financial viability under different scenarios
• Conducting international surveys and interviews to gather information from industry experts
Conclusions
Many factors contribute to whether a solar farm on a landfill will be a profitable project e.g. grid connection
costs and availability, levels of irradiation, constraints of existing landfill gas structures, lack of cost-effective
storage options and planning permission. Uncertainty over future energy prices and the site owner's appetite
for investment risk also play a part. However, the comparison of the internal rate of return (IRR) shows that
the considered scenarios of 1.5MW, 3MW with incentives perform 1.23% better than the 6MW scenario
without incentives. The financial model also illustrates that all three scenarios become profitable after roughly
17 years. However, a discount rate exceeding 8.52%, a reduction of irradiation by 31% and an increase in
capital costs by 28% can make the project unprofitable.
For further information please contact
Frederic Coulon and Nazmiye Ozkan