Many sites across the U.S. lay fallow due to contamination. The EPA is proposing that these lands could be used to produce electricity to meet society’s demands.

The EPA is proposing a novel approach to use land that is currently unusable because of contamination to provide energy to nearby residences and businesses. The agency has identified thousands of properties that could host biomass production, solar panels or wind turbines.

“EPA is putting renewable energy production on the virtual map,” said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. “Our new interactive website encourages states and energy companies to put previously contaminated properties back to work.”

The EPA worked with the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and combined databases to build a map using Google Earth to pinpoint potential properties. There could be many advantages to utilizing these Brownfield properties in this fashon. To learn more, visit www.epa.gov/renewableenergyland.