Solar energy projects repurpose farmland and landfills in the US

Innovative solar energy projects in the United States are demonstrating new ways to utilize land for both power generation and other purposes. In Hadley, Massachusetts, an agrivoltaic project at Joe Czajkowski’s farm utilizes 832 mobile solar panels to generate approximately 445 kilowatts of energy. The system is designed to allow agricultural activities to continue beneath the panels, with crops including broccoli, spinach, and sweet corn. The panels are spaced eight meters apart to accommodate tractors and farming machinery.

In New Haven, Connecticut, a former landfill has been repurposed into a solar power site. Over 1,900 photovoltaic modules have been installed on the sealed surface of the site, which is expected to produce more than 1.4 million kWh of electricity annually—enough to power roughly 200 homes. The project, managed by Greenskies Clean Energy through a 20-year land lease, uses ballasted support systems to avoid piercing the landfill cover. This model highlights the potential of the more than 10,000 closed landfills across the U.S. to host significant solar capacity.