Former landfill will be replaced by solar farm to power hospital in West Midlands, UK
With the City of Wolverhampton, the Environment Agency plans to replace a landfill with a solar farm that will generate electricity to power the New Cross Hospital.
The site is expected to be operational by the summer of 2022, although the construction will not be entirely completed.
The solar farm will cover 11 hectares, allowing it to harvest enough energy to power the hospital for three-quarters of the year.
The farm is expected to produce 6.9 megawatts per year and be directly fed to the New Cross Hospital. The hospital would be the first in England to operate on renewable energy from its facility.
The landfill infrastructure will need to be strengthened to ensure no greenhouse gases are emitted.
It’s fantastic to see a former landfill being used in this way to provide a renewable energy source for the hospital.
—said Joe Craddock, Environment Officer at the Environment Agency.
“We have taken the opportunity of working with the council to not only maintain but also improve the infrastructure of the closed landfill.”
The landfill was originally a coal mine converted to a landfill until it ceased operations in 1996 and was capped in 1997.
The Wolverhampton council maintains and monitors the site, while the Environment Agency regulates it.
The project is a step towards reaching its goal of achieving net neutrality by 2040.