Casella Waste Partners on Solar Project at Vermont Landfill

Casella Waste Systems Inc. along with two solar energy firms have launched a solar power project at Casella’s Coventry, Vt., landfill.

The project, called the largest of its kind in Vermont, will generate 2.7 megawatts of energy sold to Vermont Electric Power Producers Inc., according to a news release.

Borrego Solar Systems Inc., a designer and developer of grid-tied solar photovoltaic systems, partnered with Soltage Greenwood for financing to develop the solar project for the Rutland, Vt.-based Casella Waste. Borrego will own the operation.

The project is in the construction phase. The 9,018-panel ground-mount solar array will be installed on the site’s buffer zone, which is not scheduled for waste. The site currently is the only active landfill in the state, and also operates an 8-megawatt gas-to-energy facility on the site.

The firms expect the system to generate approximately 3,199 megawatt-hours of energy annually, enough to power 261 homes for a year.

“We were pleased to offer our landfill site in Coventry as an asset for a solar energy system,” said John Casella, CEO chairman of Casella Waste. “The installation will allow us to utilize the entire property for energy generation, as the rest of the site is already doing so through methane capture and conversion.”