MSU report advocates turning brownfields into energy parks

Didya hear? Michigan State University has this crazy idea about turning brownfields green ...in more ways than one.

However, that notion doesn't seem so crazy anymore after the university's Land Policy Institute released a study that suggests brownfields should be turned into renewable energy parks. The study says that putting things like solar panels on Michigan's contaminated brownfield sites could produce enough electricity to power half of the state's homes, bringing in $15 billion in investment and creating 17,500 jobs.

Brownfield sites are usually parcels of land that have been contaminated by toxic materials, often in industrial areas. They can also be old buildings that have become obsolete.

Michigan's long industrial heritage have left a large number of brownfield sites, especially in southeast Michigan. MSU Land Policy Institute's study says these lands could produce as many as 5,855 megawatts of electricity, which could power 1.8 million homes.

That would go a long way toward meeting the state's new renewable portfolio standard, which calls for 10 percent of Michigan's energy to come from a combination of energy efficiency gains and renewable energy sources by the year 2015.

Source: Michigan State University Land Policy Institute
Writer: Jon Zemke

MSU report advocates turning brownfields into energy parks

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