Untitled Document

Brightfields

Picture of TheThe Chicago Center for Green Technology

Interim and Ancillary Uses
The Brightfields Concept: Clean Energy from Dirty Land
By Mark Burger

BrightfieldsTM is a concept for effective use of a brownfield that can improve the community and bring economic value and a revenue stream to the property. The concept, coined by the U.S. Department of Energy, is an economic development strategy where non-polluting energy, such as solar electricity, is generated on the brownfield.
One of the first brightfield examples in the world is the Chicago Center for Green Technology, located on the city’s west side. By the 1990s this 17-acre site, with a 34,000 square foot building, was abandoned and contaminated, primarily with construction waste. Under Chicago Mayor Richard Daley’s leadership, the city instituted a two-year cleanup process, and rehabilitated the building into a state-of-the-art example of environmental design, construction and operation.
The building is highlighted by arrays of solar photovoltaic panels totaling 115 peak kilowatts (kWp). This is the largest concentration of solar energy technology in the Midwest at this time, and supplies a large portion of the building’s energy needs. Other U.S. brightfield projects under way include a large-scale photovoltaic installation at a 27-acre site in Brockton, Mass., of which the first phase consists of 500 peak kilowatts (kWp), eventually to reach one peak megawatt (MWp). Another site that is being studied is the Miramar Landfill in San Diego.

The Value of Brightfields

Beyond the conversion of a community eyesore into a productive, safe asset, brightfields serve another valuable purpose. Electricity from solar photovoltaic installations on the site can alleviate peak power requirements during the daytime and summertime. Brightfields can also generate other forms of renewable energy, such as wind power or solar heat.
Potential brightfield sites are often located near major electrical infrastructure that can transmit power; otherwise, the power can be generated locally as part of community revitalization.
Brightfields can access a range of financing entities. Besides generic brownfield programs, funding can come from federal, state, local environ-mental, renewable energy or utility sources. Other sources, such as municipal bonds or tax incremental financing (TIF), can be used to finance the brightfield concept.
Revenue can be realized from selling the electricity, as well as its non-polluting value, which has been captured by the market-based tradable credits called “green tags” or “renewable energy certificates.”
Selling the energy and green tags in a long-term power purchase agreement package has the best potential for making brightfields an economically feasible solution.
For more information, see the U.S. Department of Energy Brightfield Web site. http://www.eere.energy.gov/brightfields/about.htm

Mark Burger works for Spire Solar Chicago and is president of the Illinois Solar Energy Association.

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