The City of New York gets a “high five” for their announcement last week to allow SunEdison to convert the world's biggest, stinkiest dump at Freshkills Park on Staten Island into the city's largest solar plant.
Once construction is complete and the juice is finally turned on in the latter half of 2015, the solar plant is expected to produce up to 10 megawatts of power, enough to give the residents of about 2,000 homes the amazing opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint by tapping into this new, amazing, renewable source of solar energy. The solar power plant will be operated by SunEdison at absolutely no cost to the city.
The horrid smelling landfill was officially closed in 2001 and a decision was made to redevelop the site in 2009. The dump is 47 acres large and has been both an eyesore and embarrassment to Staten Island. At its peak, polluting emissions were so bad that they could actually be seen from space. Many have reported the landfill as Staten Island's most remembered landmark, which has made it hard for people to take the borough seriously. Over the years, the landfill has been the butt of many visiting comedian's jokes. “Staten Island Stinks!” is a refrain often heard from visitors and residents alike.
Staten Island resident David Whitehouse commented, “I remember being able to smell it all the way in Port Richmond.” Port Richmond is almost 8 miles away from the landfill!
In an announcement last week, Mayor Bloomberg, a major supporter of the project said, "It's fitting that Freshkills, once a daily dumping ground, will become a showcase urban renewal and sustainability.”
The Freshkills Park Blog reports that pollution conscious residents are doing other things to help out, such as transforming the islands streets into an area that actually promotes social interaction and supports local wildlife too. The blog also references the Solana Solar Plant in Arizona, which uses an innovative solution for energy storage in molten salt, which allows the plant to store energy for as long as six hours. Perhaps SunEdison's plant will reach or even surpass Solana's skills at assuring residents of sufficient energy during periods when the sun is down or otherwise occupied.
We think there will be nothing better than the sight of 35,000 high efficiency solar panels taking place of this stinking dump. Now what will people say when they visit Staten Island? How about "Staten Island Shines!"