March 28, 2024
Annapolis, US 47 F

Annapolis Energy Park project moves forward

Pantelides
Pantelides
Annapolis Mayor, Michael J. Pantelides

Mayor Michael Pantelides announced that the Annapolis City Council accepted, on First Reader, the selection of Annapolis Solar Park, LLC for development of the solar segment of the planned Annapolis Renewable Energy Park (AREP).  The Energy Park will be constructed at the site of the closed and capped Annapolis Landfill, located in the vicinity of Interstate 97, Maryland Route 450 and Crownsville Road in Anne Arundel County. 

Annapolis Solar Park, LLC, one of five companies bidding for the project, will develop, build, own, operate and maintain the 16.8 megawatt solar photovoltaic project, converting sunlight into direct current electricity, on approximately 80 acres of closed landfill under a 20-year land-lease.  This project, when completed, will be the largest solar project identified by the Environmental Protection Agency exclusively installed on a closed landfill.

“Down the road, the city will investigate other options to expand ways to develop renewable energy,” Mayor Pantelides said. “In the meantime, we expect the solar portion of the project to be operational by the end of 2016 and anticipate that it will generate more than $5 million dollars in revenue to the city over the course of the 20-year lease.”

Along with decreasing the city’s operating costs by providing less expensive power to a number of City of Annapolis buildings and paying the city annual rent payments, Annapolis Solar Park, LLC is planning to sell electricity to qualified customers in the area.

The City of Annapolis developed the AREP project using EPA’s guidelines.  The City received support for proposal evaluation and other advisory support from Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Environmental Services, Maryland Clean Energy Center, and private subject matter experts in renewable energy technologies.

AREP, throughout its 20-year solar lease with Annapolis Solar Park, LLC is expected to produce approximately 21,822,000 kilowatt-hours of carbon-neutral electricity, an amount that offsets the annual greenhouse gas emissions from 3,168 passenger vehicles.  In other terms, this production is estimated to offset the CO2 emissions of 2,070 homes’ electricity use for one year; or approximately 12.5% of the annual household electricity usage within the City of Annapolis.  Also, by converting the closed Annapolis Landfill to a solar energy park, the City is supporting the production of carbon-neutral energy, which will offset the equivalent amount of carbon that is captured by 12,334 acres of U.S. forests in one year.

Annapolis Solar Park, LLC is jointly owned by BQ Energy, LLC in partnership with Building Energy Development US, LLC.  BQ Energy is a leading US developer of renewable energy systems built on closed landfills.  Building Energy Development is the US subsidiary of the international renewable energy developer Building Energy S.p.A. 

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