How to Develop Sites for Renewable Energy
This information is intended for sites where the cleanup program, whether Federal, state, or Tribal, has been identified.
If you are unsure of the cleanup program that is applicable to your site, contact a RE-Powering team member in your region or visit how to identify sites.
Evaluating whether a potentially contaminated site can be safely reused for renewable energy is a multi-step process. Getting started early during cleanup planning (e.g., during environmental assessment), allows for maximum time and cost efficiencies. It allows for planning for the construction of a renewable energy facility even as cleanup strategies are being evaluated. The entity that is responsible for selecting a redevelopment option, such as the property owner, potentially responsible party, or lessee, should consider the community’s vision and technical and legal considerations provided in the laws and regulations that are specific to each environmental cleanup program.
The path to renewable energy redevelopment on contaminated sites is generally split into three phases: pre-screening, site conditions and feasibility, and design and development. This page provides a clear path for redevelopment and key considerations but does not include information on the steps after Design and Development, including construction, operations, and decommissioning of a renewable energy project.
Many sites do not require cleanup after initial investigation and are ready for reuse. Where additional cleanup is necessary, EPA and its state and Tribal partners work to address contamination to ready sites for reuse.
Learn more about EPA’s cleanup programs here:
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Laws and Regulations | US EPA.
- Superfund | US EPA.
- Brownfields | US EPA.
- Federal Facilities Superfund | US EPA.
Learn more on cleanup and renewable energy development processes as well as addressing on-site environmental issues here: