Staten Island’s old landfill to be home to new alternative energy projects
March 24, 2012New York City’s Staten Island is known for a great many things.
Often called the “Forgotten Borough,” Staten Island is home to some of New York City’s largest marathons as well as one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions, the Staten Island Ferry. Unfortunately, the Island is also known for its expansive garbage dump. The landfill houses a significant amount of the waste produced by New York City. The landfill was closed in early 2011 after having serviced more than two billion tons of garbage. Now, the dump could be home to some of the country’s most ambitious alternative energy projects.
City officials have announced that the 75 acres of land that formerly served as a landfill is now available for lease.
The city is now soliciting bids on the land, with a keen interest into seeing alternative energy projects take root. Officials want to see a 20 megawatt energy system installed at the site, combining solar and wind power. The ideal project would be capable of powering more than 6,000 homes throughout the city.
Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway admits that New York City needs energy that is both clean and affordable.
Renewable sources of energy, such as solar and wind, are ideal for the city’s needs. Holloway claims that city officials are working to develop New York City’s capacity for alternative energy as much as possible and believes that a new energy system will be installed at the old landfill at some point this year.