Solar landfill covers coming to market

The first solar landfill cover, which integrated solar collection strips into a geomembrane to collect energy, was a success, so waste management firm Republic Services Inc., Phoenix, Az., has transferred its patent pending to Carlisle Energy Services to develop and market the innovation. Tessman Road Landfill in San Antonio, Texas, used the cover to generate clean, renewable energy in otherwise unusable space. Carlisle Energy Services, Carlisle, Pa., makes EPDM and TPO single-ply membranes, and by integrating flexible solar laminate technology into high-quality membrane materials, can make a landfill cover do double duty as an impervious cap and energy source.