US targets brownfield sites for solar makeover

The US is to explore the possibility of recycling its old brownfield sites as prime locations for new solar power generating facilities.

Riverside and San Bernadino counties, which are located between Los Angeles and San Diego in California, are currently in talks with solar power companies about redeveloping both closed and capped landfill sites as well as land currently housing derelict public buildings.

The move follows the submission of bids by the providers in April, but has been accelerated by the US Department of the Interior's announcement last month that it was looking for large tracts of land to site 24 solar-energy study zones.

The Californian sites under discussion cover 338,000 acres in total and the construction project is scheduled to begin next year. The electricity generated by the facilities will be sold to utility firms and local communities across the state.

Meanwhile, Norm Johnston, head of startup company Solar Fields, is calling for former industrial sites around the state of Ohio to be converted into solar installations. The firm is currently building a 1.8MW facility on seven acres of fields near the Ohio Air National Guard 180th Fighter Wing headquarters to replace electricity currently supplied to the jet base from utility provider, Toledo Edison.

The demonstration project will include 20,000 solar panels, of which 11,000 are currently in place, and is being funded by a $6.5m (£4m) grant.

As chairman of a renewable energy trade group, Ohio Advanced Energy, Johnston is also in discussions with local government and policy makers to facilitate and possibly fund a new venture that would focus on the development of brownfield sites.

He is keen to use a chunk of the state's $96m federal stimulus funding, together with backing from banks and other investors, to initially develop two 50 acre brownfield sites in the state capable of generating 10MW each. The goal over time is to expand the figure to 30MW in order to generate about a third of the solar power that local legislation states must be produced by 2025.

In other solar news, Energy Conversion Devices (ECD) has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Solar Integrated Technologies (SIT) for about $16.3m, including debt.

ECD manufactures thin-film solar laminate products for the building integrated and commercial rooftop market, while SIT provides building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) roof-based systems.

ECD said its aim was to bolster its field engineering and technical capabilities in BIPV rooftop equipment in order to generate pull-through sales and better support its third-party distribution channel in the US and Europe.