Castillo Engineering announced that it has been selected by Montante Solar to provide design and engineering services on two of Calibrant Energy's landfill community solar projects in Niagara, New York, totaling 13 MW. Currently under construction, the projects use ballasted, fixed-tilt mounting technology and are expected to reach completion in Q1 of 2025.
"We're grateful to have partnered with Castillo Engineering on this challenging landfill solar project in New York," said Steve Erck, Vice President at Montante Solar. "Their breadth of expertise - from civil to electrical to structural - has been instrumental in streamlining this project and optimizing each site while protecting the sensitive landfill cap."
In the last five years, landfill solar projects in the United States have risen by 80 percent. New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey are home to over 70 percent of all the country's utility-scale landfill solar projects. These landfill solar installations have a combined capacity of around 2.4 GW. However, with an estimated 10,000 closed landfills nationwide, this capacity could potentially expand by at least 25 times.
In addition to adding momentum to the national expansion of landfill solar developments, these two new landfill community solar projects in New York also further advance the state's position as the state with the largest installed community solar capacity. They also contribute to New York's ambitious renewable energy targets, including its goals of generating 70% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030, and of reaching a 100% zero-emissions electricity grid by 2040.
"Montante Solar's ability to achieve reliable returns and efficiently manage projects — especially on complex landfill solar projects — is exceptional," said Christopher Castillo, CEO of Castillo Engineering. "We're proud to collaborate with an industry leader like Montante Solar in transforming these formerly unusable sites into a source of more affordable, reliable and clean energy that will serve these communities for generations to come."
