North Sea Landfill Solar Project Plan Advances in Southampton

A proposal to build solar panels at the shuttered North Sea Landfill is nearing the end of the approval process and construction is poised to begin in the coming weeks, officials said.

The Town of Southampton contracted with Boston-based Kearsarge Energy for the project, which is expected to generate nearly 5 megawatts of electricity — enough to power about 1,200 homes. The project goes before the town planning department and undergoes building, electrical, and fire marshal reviews, with the biggest approval pending from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservationv (DEC).

“The panels will sit about eight to 10 feet above ground,” Dan Voss, the Senior Director of Project Development Kearsarge Energy, told the town board on September 26. “They’ll sit at an angle of 25 degrees.”

The project, which has been in the worksfgor two years, is part of a renewable energy initiative across New York State that includes the ongoing construction of offshore wind farms.

Voss noted that when surveying the 131-acre former landfill, the company had to exclude any slopes over 15%, citing a need for room to access the gas wells and testing. He also announced the panels would be bi-facial.

“They generate electricity from above and below,” he said, adding that the panels were sourced from overseas, but the same manufacturers would produce them in the U.S.

The deal is 20 years in length, with options to renew after every five years.