Installation of Solar Panels at Old Forbes Street Landfill to Start in June

Capping and grading the former Forbes Street landfill in Riverside so it can be turned into a 3.7 megawatt solar-energy field is well underway now after some "challenges."

"It took the contractor longer than expected to remove 15 acres of trees that grew up through the landfill," said Jeanne Boyle, East Providence planning director. "We're up against it."

Boyle was referring to the November deadline for selling power to National Grid.

"It's a competitive contract with National Grid," she said. "The solar field has to be ready or we'll lose the contract."

East Providence's public works department is doing the capping, using guidelines from the RI Department of Environmental Management.The clean soil underneath the former Route 195 in Providence is being used to cap the former landfill.

"We got $1 million worth of free soil," said Boyle. "It's the same soil that was transported to Providence for the highway from the abandoned Big River reservoir project" in West Greenwich and Coventry.

The soil is being mixed with organic compost from the city's composting facility next to the landfill on Forbes Street.

Capping should be done by late spring, Boyle said. CME Energy expects to begin installing the 8-feet high solar panels in June. 

Approximately 13,000 solar panels will be installed over 30 acres of the 220-acre site, she said. CME is leasing the land from the city. It has a separate contract with National Grid.

“Eventually,” said Boyle back in December, “the plan is to add more panels to create a 9 megawatt facility spread over 70 acres.” 

“It’s one of only a handful of projects selected by National Grid to generate power for the utility,” she said. “It’s the first in Rhode Island moving toward construction.”

The project took birth in October, 2010, after the planning department selected CME Energy’s proposal from seven it received following the distribution of a request for proposals. The city's Comprehensive Plan identified the landfill as a perfect location for a renewable energy project.

 Go to the city's website for more information on the project.