A former landfill in Winton Hills is getting a new purpose as a solar farm.
The city of Cincinnati broke ground Friday on a 10-megawatt solar energy project atop the closed Center Hill landfill. It’ll be the largest solar array in the city, says the director of the city’s Office of Environment and Sustainability, Ollie Kroner.
“This is our next big leap to bring the Green Cincinnati Plan to life and to take control of our energy future,” Kroner said.
The city aims to use 100% renewable energy for its operations by 2035 and reduce climate-warming carbon emissions 50% by 2030, goals outlined in its Green Cincinnati Plan.
Kroner says partners from across Cincinnati and beyond came together to make the solar array happen.
The city had been awarded a nearly $10 million federal grant for the project, but Trump’s EPA canceled the full $7 billion "Solar for All" grant program earlier this year.
Kroner says it's able to move forward through a new funding model.
The project will include two, five-megawatt arrays, developed by Texas-based UPower Energy. The city will invest $12.4 million to own one of the arrays. The investment will take advantage of the federal Investment Tax Credit, which can help cover an estimated 50% of project costs.
UPower Energy will retain ownership of the other array and sell the power to the city through a power purchase agreement.
Kroner says this will help stabilize municipal energy costs. The electricity produced will power city facilities.
“The decisions people are making in other parts of the world are having a drastic impact on our utility bills at home,” Kroner said. “With this project, the city is able to lock in low electricity prices that are projected to save more than $10 million over the project's lifetime.”
Mayor Aftab Pureval says this isn’t a “one-off project.”
“We are going to continue aggressively pursuing opportunities just like this, because this is our strategy — not just powering our own facilities, but actively looking at ways to directly impact taxpayer rates, prices and our aggregator program,” Pureval said.
The city also has a 100-megawatt solar array in Highland County, about 40 miles east of Cincinnati.
Construction of the solar array at the former Center Hill landfill is expected to be completed by late 2027.
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