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addressed balancing the benefits of renewable energy development and our obvious need to <br />comply with the conditions of our GOB requirements. <br />Uncertainty related to site suitability and CLP program responsibilities. There are perceived <br />and real risks associated with building solar on CLP sites. Some of these risks are associated with <br />the structures (cap) and systems (leachate and gas collection and management) and some are <br />related to future events that are difficult to predict. Future events include CLP program required <br />cap maintenance and potential discovery of contaminants requiring removal of solar equipment. <br />Anyone seeking to develop solar systems on these sites will attempt to quantify risks and insure <br />against associated losses. The MPCA has technical information about these sites and their <br />construction that could be provided to interested parties to help explain the risks better and <br />address this barrier. <br />Increased construction costs related to the unique features of closed landfill caps. <br />Constructing solar power systems on a landfill cap requires lighter weight construction equipment <br />and construction techniques and racking systems that eliminate penetrations. Stormwater <br />management and erosion control are also especially important considerations when working on a <br />landfill cap. We have heard this increases the costs to construct solar on the landfill cap. We <br />believe state renewable energy policy could be created to help off -set these costs and promote <br />solar energy development on CLP sites. <br />Investments in transmission and distribution infrastructure may be needed. CLP sites were <br />typically located to be convenient, from a transportation standpoint, to the point of waste <br />generation and on marginal land without competing uses. This does not mean they are <br />convenient to an off -taker (someone who would use the electricity). We have identified the <br />location of existing transmission and distribution infrastructure and assumed distance to <br />infrastructure is an important criterion for siting solar on CLP sites. Distance is important but there <br />are other factors that can also impact the cost to connect solar on CLP sites to the local/regional <br />infrastructure. We recommended a preliminary interconnect study for the top ranked sites to help <br />identify these other important factors and determine their impact on solar development on CLP <br />sites. It is possible that investments in Minnesota's transmission and distribution infrastructure <br />would enable or promote solar development on CLP sites across Minnesota. <br />28 <br />