Lexington company wants to put solar on a closed city dump. Here’s what to know
A Lexington-based solar energy company wants to put a solar farm on approximately 400 acres on a former city dump.
Edelen Renewables unveiled a proposal Thursday for the former Haley Pike landfill that would produce an estimated 100,000 megawatt-hours in its first year. The project could be operational by 2027 if it gets the green light from city officials and other sign-offs, Edelen said.
“This is a bold opportunity to repurpose forgotten land in a way that creates jobs, advances sustainability and protects the farmland that defines Lexington’s identity,” said Adam Edelen, founder and CEO of Edelen Renewables, at a press conference at the city government center. “By transforming a closed landfill into a clean energy powerhouse, Lexington can become a model for cities across the country. This project checks every box: economic development, environmental stewardship and energy independence.”
The power the proposed solar farm would generate would go to Kentucky Utilities, Edelen said.
“We have been working on this for a number of months,” Edelen said.
David Absher, chief development officer of Edelen Renewables, said if the project moves forward, it will likely be the first solar farm on a closed landfill in the country. Edelen Renewables has also put solar on closed coal mines.
Lexington to release request for proposals
Edelen presented the plan as an unsolicited proposal to the city.
Susan Straub, a spokesperson for the city, said the city will release a request for proposals for solar for the site, which means multiple companies could bid or submit a proposal to the city.
The city has long considered transforming the former dump into a solar farm.
Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton formed an internal committee in 2024 to determine the feasibility of putting a large-scale solar farm on the landfill off of Hedger Lane in eastern Fayette County.
Haley Pike largely closed as a landfill in 2011. It still takes yard and construction waste.
The city and whomever it chooses to build the solar farm may be under a tight deadline to start the project.
Under the recently passed Congressional tax and spending plan, the Big Beautiful Bill, solar projects have to begin construction within a year of enactment of the bill, July 4, or have the solar project operational by Dec. 31, 2027 to be eligible to two federal tax credits. The bill sunsets incentives for solar and other alternative energy sources and gives oil, gas and other companies more access to federal lands, according to CNBC.
Edelen said Thursday they hope to use those tax credits.
“There will not be a cost to the city and taxpayers,” Edelen said. “The city will benefit from a new revenue.”
Edelen said the city would likely lease the land to Edelen for 30 to 40 years.
Fayette moves to regulate industrial solar
Lexington and other Kentucky counties are in the midst of regulating where solar energy can and can not go.
On July 1, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council General Government and Planning Committee passed a set of new zoning ordinances that would allow solar in certain areas but would largely ban large solar farms in agricultural zones.
The changes in the city’s land use regulations will go to the full council for a vote on Aug. 19.
The change in the zoning regulations was proposed by Silicon Ranch, a private company, which wants to construct a 387-acre solar farm in eastern Fayette County on land currently zoned agricultural. Environmental and farmland preservation groups have opposed the move, saying it would destroy prime farmland.
But solar is still coming to parts of rural Fayette County.
In December, the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities in Kentucky, approved a 384-acre solar farm between Interstate 64 and U.S. 60. The solar farm is being built by the East Kentucky Power Cooperative, a public utility. Construction is supposed to start this year. Because Silicon Ranch is a private company, it does not need PSC approval.
Meanwhile, the city has been studying whether it was feasible to put solar on the now-closed Haley Pike landfill on Hedger Lane. The landfill closed in 2011.
