Local Landfill To Become Solar Garden

The Clean Energy Collective announced Monday that the former Templeton Gap Landfill will be the site for one of Colorado Springs’ first community-owned solar gardens.

The project will recycle the 43-acre brownfield site into a renewable energy park.

The closed landfill is currently a grassy mound located in a business park development in the northeast edge of Colorado Springs. It will be repurposed to house a 500kW community solar array that will deliver clean, locally-produced solar power to 150 to 200 Colorado Springs utility customers.

The plan is a result of a coordinated effort between government agencies at the local, state, and federal levels, including the U.S. EPA, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the Colorado Brownfields Foundation, and national Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The site is currently managed by the Colorado Brownfields Foundation (CBF), a non-profit organization that provides services to promote the cleanup and reuse of environmentally impaired sites.