Government operations in Maryland’s Anne Arundel County aim to run on 100% renewable energy by 2030.
County Executive Steuart Pittman signed Bill 19-22 on Tuesday, creating a solar project on the closed Glen Burnie Landfill that aims to provide the county government with clean electricity and cost savings for the next quarter-century.
The county said it will lease “about 20 acres” at the landfill to Ameresco, where the Massachusetts-based renewable energy and energy efficiency company plans to build a build a solar energy generating facility.
Over the next 25 years, Anne Arundel County will receive $3.075 million in lease payments from Ameresco, and commit to buy solar energy from it at set costs that are estimated to save taxpayers $3.675 million. In total, there’s an estimated cost savings of $6.75 million for taxpayers, according to a county news release.
“With this project, and the renewable energy commitments we are making in the executive order, we are saving taxpayers money and ushering in a cleaner and greener Anne Arundel County for all,” Pittman said. He added that the project “is proof that clean energy is a sound investment.”
In addition to the solar project, Pittman signed Executive Order 57, which commits to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by transitioning away from the use of nonrenewable electricity and fossil fuels by 2030.
A map of the area where the solar project will be built on the closed Glen Burnie Landfill is below.
