Could this closed Fayette County landfill get new life as a solar farm?
Lexington is weighing whether to put a large solar operation on a closed Fayette County landfill.
Mayor Linda Gorton said city staff have formed an internal task force to examine how to expand solar in Fayette County and has looked at installing an operation at the Haley Pike landfill at 4216 Hedger Lane in far eastern Fayette County.
The 600-acre landfill was the city’s main dump until it closed in 2011.
“We’re investigating the idea, and so far it’s promising,” Gorton said.
The plan comes in the middle of an ongoing fight over where to put solar in Fayette County. Two energy companies have proposed putting large-scale solar operations on farmland, which some, including Gorton, have opposed.
The effort would not be unprecedented. Other cities across the U.S. have found similar uses for closed landfills, Gorton said, though the plan would require approval from multiple state agencies.
The city’s landfill announcement comes as the Kentucky Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities, is considering a proposal by the East Kentucky Power Cooperative to install an industrial solar farm on a 380-plus acre farm in eastern Fayette County.
That proposal, which EKPC has dubbed Bluegrass Plains, is next to an existing power cooperative substation and another potential solar farm property proposed by Tennessee-based company Silicon Ranch.
Silicon Ranch proposed a zoning text amendment to allow solar farms on 800 acres of farmland in Fayette County under certain conditions, but the proposal was rejected in September by the Urban County Planning Commission and is now headed to the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council for a final decision.
Gorton testified against EKPC’s proposal at the public service commission in October and has opposed using farmland for solar farms.
“If we find that solar will work on our landfill, it would be a great step forward for sustainable energy in Lexington,” Gorton said.
Lexington has had two solar programs for several years. The government has been installing solar panels on government facilities where possible, and designing solar into new government construction projects. The 2-year-old Solarize Lexington, the brainchild of former Vice Mayor Steve Kay, has helped Lexington homeowners, small businesses, non-profits, and places of worship install solar panels and reduce their electricity costs.
The city is also aiming to get a SolSmart accreditation, which gives cities and local government ratings based on their solar policies.
Many companies looking to relocate to other parts of the country are looking for alternative energy sources, and they consider SolSmart rankings when choosing a new city, Gorton and others have said.
“Sustainable energy options are important to the health of our residents, and increasingly important to attracting businesses and growing our economy,” Gorton said.
