Held in New Orleans from Monday through Wednesday, the
Brownfields 2009 Conference is the largest conference in the U.S. focused on environmental revitalization and economic redevelopment of contaminated land, which are known as brownfields. This year’s conference focused several sessions on the topic of placing renewable energy projects such as wind farms and solar energy facilities on brownfields and old mining sites in order to make these sites productive again.
More and more local governments are looking for sustainable reuses of their brownfields. New case studies from the field show that having a joint planning process and integrating low-cost/high-reward renewable energy projects into brownfield redevelopment have a tremendous impact on community sustainability goals. Making these new renewable energy programs work requires a good vision and a community-wide planning process.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) Center for Program Analysis is seeking opportunities to facilitate the reuse of contaminated properties and active and abandoned mine sites for clean and renewable energy generation.
Future Need for Increased Electricity Production
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) 2008 Annual Energy Outlook report, by 2030 U.S. electricity production will need to increase by nearly 30% to meet growing demand. It is estimated that the equivalent of more than 320 midsize, coal-fired power plants would be needed to increase U.S. electricity production capacity to meet this rising electricity demand.
As communities become more concerned about the environmental impacts of fossil fuels, clean and renewable energy technologies will play a greater role in meeting future electricity demand. Currently, wind, solar, and biomass facilities supply 2.3% of U.S. electricity, according to the EIA report. While these clean and renewable sources currently make up only a small fraction of energy production, clean and renewable energy production is expected to increase by more than 70% between 2006 and 2030. Identifying and using land located in areas with high-quality clean and renewable energy resources will be an essential component of developing more electricity from clean and renewable energy sources.
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