Possibilities of using a closed landfill area for production of renewable energy: case Luckenwalde

The objective of the practice is to use the area of the landfill which cannot be used for other purposes such as residential or commercial use or agriculture. Further objective is the production of sustainable energy by photovoltaics (PV). The landfill Luckenwalde is an example of further use of the landfill area after the ending of waste disposal. The landfill for municipal waste (17 ha, 2.1 Mio. m³) was closed in 2005. In 2012 a surface sealing system was installed. Afterwards, a PV plant with a capacity of 1.7 MWp was installed on the area of the landfill heading to the south (2.7 ha). Before construction of the PV, several tests had to be conducted considering the impact of the PV on the sealing system. The tests included measurement of the required engineering properties for foundation as well as the overall stability of the sealing system in interaction with the PV. The functionality of the sealing system and the gas collection system might not be negatively influenced by the construction of the PV. PV was installed with following technical requirements: - a distance of 0.5 m between foundation and drainage layer, - appropriate distance between surface and panel and between each panel in order to sustain vegetation growth and allow maintenance work, - measures against erosion caused by run-off from PV panels. The main beneficiaries of the practise are the financial income for the landfill operator as well as the sustainable energy production. 950 Mg CO2/a are avoided.