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Solar farms are being built on landfills, which helps turn brownfields into green and provides a cheap source of energy to communities.

The main issue with solar panels is how much land they take compared to how much energy they create. Now, it seems like there’s a solution to the problem.

Solar firms have started building solar farms on landfills. This is believed to increase the US solar energy capacity by 63 gigawatts, or about 60%.

According to the Good News Network, landfills are a readymade source of open land close enough to the cities. As a plus, they aren’t used for anything else, so the solar farms aren’t taking up valuable land space.
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“It isn’t the easiest thing to build a solar farm on a landfill. For one thing, the traditional method of securing the panels on concrete struts buried in the ground is out of the question, as it would break the cap on the landfill. This also currently puts a landfill solar panel out of the reach of current technologies that allow the movement of the panels to follow along the sun.”

While it’s a bigger challenge to build a solar farm on a landfill than on flat ground, they offer a bigger appeal, as they can turn brown, barren landfills into green fields and provide energy for communities. 

Solar farms on landfills also give a source of cheap power to underserved communities living close to landfills.

Marina is passionate about sustainability and works to help ensure our planet stays as our home for a long time. She takes part in environmental conservation by recycling and not buying single-use plastic. When not writing, she can be found with her nose stuck in a book or trying out new baking recipes.

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