e360 digest

08 Oct 2009: Former Industrial Sites
Ideal for Renewable Energy Projects

The U.S. government has identified 4,100 contaminated industrial sites, covering more than 5 million acres, suitable for building wind, solar, and geothermal power installations. With concern about renewable energy projects being built on pristine lands, the construction of wind and solar arrays on idle

First Wind

First Wind site in Lackawanna, N.Y.

industrial “brownfields” could be an ideal solution, according to federal officials. The Daily Climate reports that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Renewable Energy Lab will begin conducting detailed studies of some sites this month and will hold five workshops with state and local leaders, renewable energy developers, and conservation groups to discuss constructing alternative energy installations on brownfields. First Wind has already built a wind power array on the site of a former steel mill near Buffalo, N.Y., and officials also are looking at many other sites — from abandoned industrial facilities in Michigan to defunct mining sites in the West — as sites for solar and wind power arrays. “We love the brownfields for renewable energy development because it relieves pressure on undisturbed places,” said an official with the Wilderness Society.

Recommend

Stumble Upon

Digg

Coal Pollution and the Fight For Environmental Justice

An Economic Boom in Turkey Takes a Toll on Marine Life

The Surprising Role of CO2 in Changes on the African Savanna

How Laundry Detergent Became A Catalyst for Green Innovation

Green Highways: New Strategies To Manage Roadsides as Habitat

As Extreme Weather Increases, Bangladesh Braces for the Worst

Yale Environment 360 is
a publication of the
Yale School of Forestry
& Environmental Studies.

Twitter: YaleE360
e360 on Facebook
Donate to e360
View mobile site
Bookmark
Share e360
Email newsletter
Subscribe to our feed:

About e360
Contact
Submission Guidelines
Reprints

South African photojournalist Adam Welz documents the harrowing relocation of six white rhinos to a region that has lost all its rhinos to poaching. View the gallery.

Opinion
Reports
Analysis
Interviews
e360 Digest
Podcasts
Video Reports

Biodiversity
Business & Innovation
Climate
Energy
Forests
Oceans
Policy & Politics
Pollution & Health
Science & Technology
Sustainability
Urbanization
Water

Antarctica and the Arctic
Africa
Asia
Australia
Central & South America
Europe
Middle East
North America

A Yale Environment 360 video explores Ecuador’s threatened Yasuni Biosphere Reserve with scientists inventorying its stunning forests and wildlife. Watch the video.

The latest
from Yale
Environment 360 is now available for mobile devices at e360.yale.edu/mobile.

In a Yale Environment 360 video, photographer Pete McBride documents how increasing water demands have transformed the Colorado River, the lifeblood of the arid Southwest. Watch the video.

Top Image: aerial view of Iceland. © Google & TerraMetrics.

The Warriors of Qiugang, a Yale Environment 360 video that chronicles the story of a Chinese village’s fight against a polluting chemical plant, was nominated for a 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). Watch the video.

Centre for Science and Environment

Environmental Health News

Environmental News Network