EPA has approved the County’s development of 63 MW of landfill and brownfield solar and 10 MW of battery energy storage systems (BESS) across Cuyahoga County, the City of Painesville, and the City of Cleveland by October 2029. The County aims to competitively procure panels, racking systems, inverters, and other relevant equipment to develop these projects with the following qualifications: 1. Panels must be both Build America, Buy America (BABA) certified AND Buy American Act compliant. 2. Panels must be compatible with landfill and brownfield solar development – the County is currently searching for ground-mount panels with ballasted racking systems, but is open to other viable alternatives if present. 3. Panels must have a satisfactory conversion efficiency to accommodate utilityscale solar within the confines of the available grant funding. 4. Inverters must be satisfactorily efficient and reliable to minimize losses over the lifespan of the system. 5. Mounting hardware and panels must be able to withstand high winds and increasing severe weather events typical of the local geography.
