The City of Cleveland Mayor's Office of Sustainability, Department of Public Utilities, and Department of Port Control in Ohio have advanced into the design stage for two new solar installations on the city-owned W. 11th Street/Spring Road Landfill and the Kolthoff Drive Landfill.
The design-build team will be led by Enerlogics Networks, Inc. with Energy Independent Solutions, LLC and Prairie Wind Group, LLC helping to advance the projects through design and construction.
These projects will transform portions of both landfills into a source of locally generated clean energy for Cleveland Public Power (CPP) customers and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport operations.
The approximately $20 million project will install a combined 7-9 megawatts across two solar arrays. The 5-7 MW Kolthoff array will help power CLE, while the 2 MW W. 11th array will generate electricity for CPP’s electric grid. Cost savings from the locally generated power at W. 11th will be passed on to CPP customers.
“Keeping costs affordable for Cleveland residents is a priority,” said Mayor Justin Bibb. “This project allows us to put underused land back to work by generating energy locally, lowering energy costs, and ensuring our clean energy investments deliver real value to the people who live here.”
The solar projects are being developed through a broader regional clean energy initiative funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program.
In 2024, a coalition of Cuyahoga County, the City of Cleveland and the City of Painesville received a $129 million grant from the EPA to expand renewable energy throughout Northeast Ohio.
The funding will support solar and battery storage projects, restoration of approximately 400 acres of polluted land, and workforce development in clean energy career pathways.
The broader initiative is expected to support the development of approximately 53 MW of solar power, natural restoration projects and a 20 MW battery installation associated with the permanent closure of a coal-powered facility in Painesville.
The work is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and other pollution, expand locally generated renewable energy and put previously blighted or otherwise difficult-to-develop properties back into productive use.
The W. 11th project supports the City’s broader goals to reduce energy burden for Clevelanders and the Kolthoff Drive project is integrated into the airport’s CLEvolution initiative to modernize terminals. Both projects support decreasing community-wide GHGs to 63% below 2018 levels by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
“These projects bring tangible financial cost savings in a volatile energy market while reducing climate emissions in the longer term.” said Sarah O’Keeffe, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability. “Expanding locally generated clean energy is both a climate action and a step to future proof our community.”
In addition to generating renewable electricity, both projects will demonstrate how clean energy development can support natural restoration. Pollinator-friendly plants will be seeded beneath and around the ground-mounted solar panels, creating habitat and food sources for beneficial insects and wildlife, including bees, butterflies and birds.
