Cleveland to install solar on two city-owned landfills

Cleveland is putting solar panels on two closed city landfills instead of leaving the land unused. A 7-megawatt project off Kolthoff Drive will help power Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, and a 2-megawatt project off West 11th Street will feed electricity to Cleveland Public Power customers. A similar 4-megawatt setup already operates on a capped landfill in nearby Brooklyn, Ohio.

The projects are part of a larger regional push funded by a $129 million federal grant that Cuyahoga County, Cleveland and Painesville received in 2024 through the EPA's Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program. That money is meant to expand solar and battery storage across Northeast Ohio, restore about 400 acres of polluted land, and support clean-energy job training. In total, the effort aims to build around 53 megawatts of solar, a 20-megawatt battery system tied to the closing of a coal plant in Painesville, and various land-restoration work. Cleveland officials say the goal is to keep energy costs down for residents while working toward the city's 2018 pledge to run on 100% renewable electricity by 2050.

For homeowners, this isn't a program you sign up for directly, but it could mean more local clean power feeding into the grid that serves Cleveland Public Power customers over time. The landfill sites will also be planted with pollinator-friendly vegetation around the solar panels, adding some habitat for bees and butterflies alongside the energy production.