When the Ivy Landfill near Charlottesville closed in 2002, the local waste authority spread land on top and began growing grass. There wasn’t much else it could do, according to Director Phil McKalips.
“It’s all built on buried trash. You can’t do anything with it, because it’s a landfill.”
But Dominion Energy saw an opportunity. It offered to lease and maintain 7,200 solar panels on the 14-acre site, a deal the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority could not turn down.
“It’s money instead of expense to us, so it’s really nice.”
Utility spokesman Tim Eberly says renewables now make up just ten percent of Dominion’s energy mix, but that will change.
“We’re expecting to have to add about 33 gigawatts of new power to our fleet, and we are anticipating more than half of that to be solar. It’s going to be playing a huge role in our power generation strategy over the next 20 years.”
Eberly says state law was a factor as Dominion charted its future.
“The Virginia Clean Economy Act, the landmark energy law from 2020, requires us to develop solar facilities on previously developed sites, and this falls into that category.”
But there were also financial considerations.The Ivy array cost the company nearly $15 million, but Dominion sees it as a good investment.
“You know the great thing about solar facilities is that we don’t have to pay for the fuel, and that’s a big money-saver for us.”
The utility is planning additional solar arrays on larger landfills in Henrico and James City counties.
