Cleveland to Install Solar Projects on Two City-Owned Landfills to Lower Energy Costs and Boost Clean Energy
The City of Cleveland is advancing plans to install solar projects on two city-owned landfills, located off Kolthoff Drive and West 11th Street. These projects, with a combined capacity of 7-9 megawatts (MW), aim to transform underused land into sources of locally generated clean energy. The 5-7 MW Kolthoff array will power operations at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE), while the 2 MW West 11th array will supply electricity to Cleveland Public Power (CPP) customers, with cost savings passed on to them. Mayor Justin M. Bibb emphasized that these projects prioritize energy affordability for residents and leverage underused land for clean energy generation. The initiative is part of a broader regional clean energy effort funded by a $129 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program, awarded in 2024 to a coalition including Cuyahoga County, the City of Cleveland, and the City of Painesville.
