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Renewable Energy on Contaminated Land and Mining Sites Basic Information

What is Renewable Energy?

Renewable energy is energy obtained from sources that can be continually replenished, such as solar, wind, and biomass. Unlike fossil fuels - which will eventually be depleted - renewable energy technologies provide a lasting source of energy. Use of renewable energy reduces greenhouse gas emissions, decreases dependence on foreign oil, and provides domestic economic development opportunities. Renewable energy technologies discussed on these pages include wind, solar (Photovolatics and Concentrating Solar Power), and biomass (biorefinery and biopower). Other clean and renewable energy sources include hydropower, geothermal, tidal power, methane gas to energy, and biomass direct-combustion and other biomass to energy conversion technologies. You can read more about renewable energy on EPA's clean energy page.

What are contaminated lands and mining sites?

Over time, hundreds of thousands of properties and millions of acres across the country have been damaged by pollution. In many places, government, private, and non-profit organizations are working with each other to assess, restore, and return these unproductive properties to sustainable and beneficial uses that are protective of health and the environment. EPA and other government agencies manage multiple programs to cleanup and revitalize contaminated properties. You can learn more about EPA's cleanup programs on EPA's Cleanup page.

Why does it make sense to site renewable energy on contaminated lands and mining sites?

The Department of Energy's U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that renewable energy demand will grow by 31% over the next 25 years. Renewable energy generation is projected to increase by 45 percent over that same period. Where will these new renewable energy facilities be built, and what will the demands be on green space? EPA believes that the sites we track and cleanup could be a good fit for some of these new clean and renewable energy facilities. Many of the sites EPA tracks or manages have existing transmission capacity and infrastructure in place; most of the acreage is in non-urban areas. By using these sites, we can help meet the growing national demand for renewable energy while lessening pressure on greenspace and providing economically viable and socially beneficial futures for sites that are currently under used or vacant. For more information, visit EPA's why site renewable energy project on contaminated lands page.

What is EPA's RE-Powering America's Land: Renewable Energy on Contaminated Lands and Mining Sites initiative?

EPA has developed maps showing opportunities to site renewable energy on contaminated lands and mining sites in each state. These maps can be viewed as part of a state by state list of renewable energy maps or in Google Earth using EPA's Interactive Renewable Energy Google Earth tool. These maps are designed as a resource for:

The maps on these pages provide information relevant to siting renewable energy production facilities and to incorporating smaller-scale renewable energy production as part of another type of redevelopment, such as a housing, commercial, or industrial project. A state-by-state list of incentives available for promoting renewable energy in each state is also available as part of this project.

What process did EPA use to develop these maps?

To develop the maps, EPA worked closely with the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). NREL and EPA collected information on promising locations for renewable energy development and merged it with EPA's data on contaminated lands and mining sites across the country. The mapping analysis applied basic screening criteria such as distance to electric transmission lines, distance to roads, renewable energy potential, and site acreage, in order to identify EPA-tracked sites that might be good candidates for solar, wind, or biomass energy production facilities. This is an important but high-level screening analysis, designed as an entry to those interested in conducting detailed site-specific evaluations of development potential.

The complete methodology behind this project is available online: EPA OSWER Center for Program Analysis Data Guidelines for "Clean and Renewable Energy Generation Potential on EPA Tracked Sites" Maps (PDF) (4pp, 94KB, About PDF)


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