These Waukegan, Illinois stakeholders are lighting the way to a brighter future atop a contaminated legacy entombed in the middle of town.
Cleanup that began in 2002 on a landfill from 1959 is now complete on the 72-acre Yeoman Creek Landfill site in Waukegan. After listing on the EPA’s National Priorities List (a.k.a. NPL, CERCLA, or “Superfund”) in 1989, and years of diligent work, the site’s long-term remedy is finally in place.
Today, the site’s owners—the City of Waukegan, Waukegan Schools, and the Yeoman Creek Remediation Group (which includes BFI, Goodyear Corporation, and Dexter/Akzo-Nobel)—are formally interested in redeveloping portions of the 72-acre site for solar power production, publishing a RFP to seek proposals from developers with experience installing solar energy production atop capped landfills.
The Yeoman Creek Landfill site is located within 500 feet of an active substation. Commonwealth Edison operates the substation and the high voltage transmission lines running west-east across the site, separating the Yeoman Creek and Edwards Field Landfill Units.
The successful proposer for this brightfield RFP will include details to the design, financing, installation and operation of solar photovoltaic ground-mounted generators on from 36 to 45 (or so) acres of the site and interconnection of the generation equipment to the utility distribution system.
Proposals are due March 10, 2017.