Verogy, which works with all things solar energy, has a knack for turning landfills no longer fulfilling their original purpose into renewable energy. “All the landfills we’re using are what are called closed and capped,” said Brian Fitzgerald, the company’s director of development. “They’re no longer accepting any bulky waste and trash.” It’s one of the many ways Verogy uses land creatively to build solar facilities. In Glastonbury, it plans to use to sheep to maintain 15 acres of farmland for a solar facility there, a concept that has been proved successful at its facilities in East Windsor, Bristol, and Southington. Fitzgerald said many municipalities have these closed and capped landfills. At the same time, those communities might be looking for space for solar. That’s where Verogy comes in. “Every capped closed landfill has a set of plans to which the landfill was capped by,” Fitzgerald said. “Our engineers will review that and bring in third-party engineers to help in the review and make sure we’ve got everything covered so that our design won’t pose any issue. It’s really that initial diligence. Landfills do come in different shapes and sizes. It’s rare to see the same landfill.” Once completed, Fitzgerald said, a municipality should start seeing savings on its energy bills. In Middletown, that eventually will be turning the 2.5-acre and 80-foot-high landfill at the Middletown Transfer Station that was closed in 1991 into something more beneficial for the city, he said.
https://www.middletownpress.com/westhartford/article/west-hartford-ct-verogy-solar-landfills-19367874.php