Waukegan Superfund Site Transformed into Solar Farm

A new 9.1-megawatt community solar project has officially launched in Waukegan, Illinois. Located on the site of the former Yeoman Creek Landfill, the array is designed to provide significant energy savings to local residents and the school district. The project was made possible through state incentives aimed at low-income communities and represents a successful effort to repurpose contaminated land.

The solar farm generates enough power for approximately 1,000 households and serves as the anchor tenant for the Waukegan Community Unit School District No. 60. By utilizing land that was previously a hazardous waste site, the project highlights a growing trend of developing renewable energy on brownfields and Superfund properties. The initiative addresses two key community needs: reducing the financial burden of high energy bills and finding productive uses for otherwise unusable land.

The Yeoman Solar Project sits on a site with a complex history. The land was purchased by the Waukegan school district in the 1950s with hopes of building a new high school. However, the terrain proved too swampy for construction. From 1958 to 1969, the area was utilized as a dump for industrial and municipal waste, leading to severe contamination.

Due to the hazardous nature of the landfill, the site was added to the federal Superfund list in 1989. This designation requires responsible parties to clean up the pollution. Remediation efforts were completed in 2005, though monitoring of gas release, groundwater, and sediment continues. For decades following the cleanup, the land remained vacant.

LeBaron Moten, deputy superintendent of the school district, noted the limited options for the property. "There were not too many options on the table for this specific site. We couldn’t build anything on it," Moten said. "Our main objective was to keep people off it." The decision to pursue a solar farm offered a solution that required minimal disturbance to the ground while generating revenue.

Developing a solar array on a Superfund site involves unique logistical and financial hurdles. CleanCapital, the national solar-investment company that owns and operates the farm, noted that building on contaminated land incurs extra costs. However, the project was made financially feasible through the Illinois Solar for All initiative.

This state program provides incentives for solar development specifically in low-income areas. Paul Curran, CleanCapital’s chief development officer, explained that brownfields are often attractive locations for solar due to existing electrical infrastructure and lower-cost land. "Incentives from the state initiative Illinois Solar for All helped make the project financially viable, even given extra costs incurred from building on a Superfund site," the report indicates.

The project serves as a case study for how state policy can sustain renewable energy development even as federal tax credits are reduced. The school district benefits twofold: receiving lease payments from CleanCapital and purchasing energy from the array at a reduced rate. This is particularly impactful for a district where 68 percent of students are considered low-income.

Constructing solar infrastructure on a landfill requires strict adherence to environmental safety protocols. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must review and approve developer plans to ensure the construction does not compromise the integrity of the cap covering the toxic waste below.

Paul Curran detailed the rigorous oversight involved. The EPA examines "every single step of construction, from how big ballasts can be to stormwater protection to how we’re going to revegetate." Even routine maintenance, such as mowing the grass beneath the panels, presents risks. "The lawn is basically what’s holding the land in place, so you don’t get erosion," Curran noted.

Despite these challenges, the Yeoman Solar Project is now operational. Andrew Linhares, senior manager for the central U.S. at the Solar Energy Industries Association, praised the development. "The Yeoman Solar Project encapsulates so much of solar’s promise," Linhares said. "The project instills new life into the Yeoman Creek Landfill Superfund site like only solar can."

For residents like Fredy Amador, a former workers' rights organizer, the project offers tangible relief. With energy bills skyrocketing in Northern Illinois, the guaranteed savings provided by the community solar subscription are a welcome development. Amador has become an advocate for the project, seeing it as a way to ease financial pressure on families.

The school district plans to integrate the solar farm into its educational curriculum. Currently, seven district buildings have rooftop solar arrays that are referenced in sustainability lessons. Deputy Superintendent Moten hopes the Yeoman Solar Project will similarly educate students about clean energy and potentially prepare them for future jobs in the industry.

The project is part of a broader push in Waukegan for a "just transition." The city, which hosts five Superfund sites and recently retired a large coal plant, is looking to renewable energy to benefit residents who have historically suffered from industrial pollution. By turning a hazardous liability into a clean energy asset, the community is charting a new path forward.