One of the problems environmentalists face as green has gone mainstream is competing green priorities that often pit environmentalists against environmentalists. Bird lovers often decry wind farm projects. Land-use conservationists are sometimes skeptical of large-scale hydroelectric dams. And literal tree huggers often hate big solar farm projects because they take up so much land and often require cutting down trees.
A recent solar farm project has sidestepped those issues and overcome resistance by meeting several goals at once. The Panorama project in Fort Washington, Md., is a huge solar farm installation developed on the site of a former landfill. It is Maryland’s first large-scale solar project, according to NPR.
The 6.6-megawatt project, much larger than most community solar projects which usually only hit about 2 megawatts, could be this size because it was installed on the brownfield site, land that couldn’t be used for many other purposes. About 1,200 homes have already signed up to get solar power from the project.
This post was submitted by Greg Zimmerman, executive editor, Building Operating Management and FacilitiesNet.com. Read his cover story about Chris Walinski and his mission to make open offices flexible and productive.
