A 15-acre brownfield outside the town of Canton in Massachusetts is getting a second lease in life as a solar power project that will generate around $16.3 million in revenue.

The projects such as the one in Canton effectively revitalize abandoned, underused industrial areas and convert them into economically productive, clean power generating sites.

The former Canton landfill lay idle for two decades before Boston-based renewable energy project developer Southern Sky Renewable Energy L.L.C.'s proposal to repurpose the area into a solar power generation site was picked up by the town.

"Hundreds of closed landfills across the state are sitting idle when they can, in fact, be turned into major sources of revenue. For communities like Canton that are in dire need of tangible economic growth, solar power arrays provide a major opportunity," said Francis X. McMahon, managing director of Southern Sky.

Chinese solar company JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. supplied 19,844 ground-mounted solar panels for a 5.75-megawatt solar array for the site. The array was designed by JinkoSolar, Southern Sky and New England-based ISSM Solar Solutions, LLC.

The facility is currently under construction by Gemma Renewable Power, LLC. and is expected to come online in the summer of 2012.

The project will create an estimated 25 construction jobs and over 90 permanent jobs.

Southern Sky has a 25-year lease to operate the Canton landfill solar site. The completed project will be the largest solar photovoltaic facility in the commonwealth of Massachusetts and New England.

Southern Sky has similar projects in developments in Carver and Berkley, both in Massachusetts. – EcoSeed Staff