Re: Creating "brightfields" on Brownfields

[Emery Graham <"egraham"@ci.wilmington.de.us>]

It's unfortunate that hazardous waste sites cost so much to clean up. There's
no type of alternative use that will make dirty land clean and healthy.
There's
no distraction that will permanently shield the polluter or the owner from the
obligation to clean up the site.

Brightfields don't speak to the fundamental problem of hazardous waste sites;
they need to be cleaned up.

cpeo@cpeo.org wrote:

> (Excerpts)
> For the complete article go to:
> http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/990804/9s.html
>
> Wednesday August 4, 5:09 pm Eastern Time
> US plans to convert factory sites to solar power
>
> CHICAGO, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The federal government on Wednesday unveiled an
> effort to install solar panels at polluted, unused factory sites to create
> energy-producing islands in cities where the power is needed most.
>
> The U.S. Energy Department and the city of Chicago said the first step in
> the project would be a factory employing 100 people ... will be built on
> the site of a facility that reprocessed demolition debris and was closed by
> the city for violating environmental laws.
>
> The Energy Department said it envisioned solar power collection points in
> other locations around the country, where they could be placed directly on
> abandoned dumps and other factory sites without disturbing the often
> contaminated ground beneath.
>
> It said it had begun to work with cities in California, Virginia,
> Minnesota, New York and Connecticut to find other sites for creating
> ``brightfields'' on abandoned industrial sites, called ``brownfields.''
>
> Solar panels covering Chicago's 17-acre (6.9-hectare) site could power a
> neighborhood of 50 homes during peak solar activity in the summer, he said.
> At night or during the Northern Hemisphere's winter -- when solar energy
> output is about 40 percent less -- power would come from the utility.