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Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308

Solar Development on 

Contaminated and Disturbed 

Lands

Jordan Macknick, Courtney Lee, Gail Mosey, 

and Jenny Melius

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Technical Report

NREL/TP-6A20-58485

December 2013
NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy

Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy

Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

15013 Denver West Parkway

Golden, CO 80401

303-275-3000 • www.nrel.gov

Solar Development on 

Contaminated and Disturbed 

Lands

Jordan Macknick, Courtney Lee, Gail Mosey, 

and Jenny Melius 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Prepared under Task No. DOCC.1013

Technical Report

NREL/TP-6A20-58485

December 2013
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iii

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency 

and Renewable Energy (EERE) and the Solar Energy Technologies Program (SETP). The 

authors wish to thank the following individuals for their thoughtful comments, input, and review 

of the document in its various stages: Jorge Figueroa, Western Resource Advocates; Marc 

Thomas and Katie Brown, Environmental Protection Agency; and Nate Blair, Scott Gossett, 

Anelia Milbrandt, and especially Laura Vimmerstedt, NREL. We also wish to thank Mary 

Lukkonen of NREL for her editorial support. 

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iv

Executive Summary

A significant amount of land classified as contaminated and disturbed across the United States

has the potential to host developments of utility-scale solar power. This report examines the 

prospect of developing utility- and commercial-scale concentrated solar power (CSP) and solar 

photovoltaics (PV) technologies on degraded and environmentally contaminated lands. The 

potential for solar development on contaminated and disturbed lands was assessed, and for the 

largest and highest solar resource sites, the economic impacts and feasibility were evaluated. 

Overall, levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) tends to depend on the solar resource and electricity 

generated per land area, which varies by location. Generally, LCOE was lower in the Southwest 

where the amount of electricity generated is highest. Developing solar power on contaminated 

and disturbed lands can help create jobs and revitalize local and state economies, and selecting 

these sites over greenfield sites can potentially have permitting and environmental mitigation 

advantages. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) SunShot goals call for 632 GW of PV and 

83 GW of CSP to be deployed by 2050. Conservative land-use estimates of this study (10 acres 

per megawatt) show that there are disturbed and environmentally contaminated lands throughout 

the country that could be suitable for utility-scale solar power, and, that there is sufficient land 

area to meet SunShot solar deployment goals. The purpose of this assessment is to improve the 

understanding of these sites and facilitate solar developers’ selection of contaminated and 

disturbed sites for development. 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
v 

Table of Contents

1 Introduction........................................................................................................................................... 1

2 Methods................................................................................................................................................. 3

2.1 Definitions and Data Sources ........................................................................................................... 3

2.2 Filtering Criteria .............................................................................................................................. 4

2.3 SAM Analysis .................................................................................................................................. 5

2.4 JEDI Analysis .................................................................................................................................. 5

3 Results................................................................................................................................................... 6

3.1 Land and Solar Potential .................................................................................................................. 6

4 SAM Results........................................................................................................................................ 17

4.1 Levelized Costs of Electricity ........................................................................................................ 17

4.2 JEDI Results .................................................................................................................................. 20

5 Discussion........................................................................................................................................... 24

6 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................... 26

7 References .......................................................................................................................................... 27

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at www.nrel.gov/publications.
vi 

List of Figures

Figure 1. Top 25 largest sites for CSP development on barren, invasive species, and 

disturbed lands ...........................................................................................................................8

Figure 2. Top 25 largest sites for utility-scale PV development on barren, invasive species, and 

disturbed lands ...........................................................................................................................9

Figure 3. Top 25 largest sites for large-scale commercial PV development on barren, invasive 

species, and disturbed lands .....................................................................................................10

Figure 4. Top 25 largest sites for CSP development on federally owned contaminated lands ......11

Figure 5. Top 25 largest sites for utility-scale PV development on federally owned 

contaminated lands...................................................................................................................12

Figure 6. Top 25 largest sites for large-scale commercial PV development on federally owned 

contaminated lands...................................................................................................................13

Figure 7. Top 25 largest sites for CSP development on non-federally owned contaminated 

lands .........................................................................................................................................14

Figure 8. Top 25 largest sites for utility-scale PV development on non-federally owned 

contaminated lands...................................................................................................................15

Figure 9. Top 25 largest sites for large-scale commercial PV development on non-federally 

owned contaminated lands .......................................................................................................16

Figure 10. LCOE map of the 25 largest utility PV sites ................................................................17

Figure 11. Box-and-whisker plot of LCOE in $/kWh for top disturbed sites................................19

Figure 12. Box-and-whisker plot of LCOE in $/kWh for top contaminated sites .........................19

Figure 13. Number of jobs created for the construction of each project for contaminated sites ...20

Figure 14. Amount of economic impacts for each location for contaminated sites ......................21

Figure 15. Number of jobs created during construction of each project for disturbed sites and 

agricultural sites .......................................................................................................................21

Figure 16. Amount of economic impacts for each location for disturbed sites and agricultural 

sites ..........................................................................................................................................22

Figure C-1. Total barren, invasive, disturbed (BID) land without any restrictions .......................33

Figure C-2. Total agriculture land without any restrictions ...........................................................33

Figure C-3. Large-scale commercial: BID land with land/slope restrictions ................................34

Figure C-4. Large-scale commercial: Agriculture land with land/slope restrictions .....................34

Figure C-5. Utility scale: BID land with land/slope/solar restrictions...........................................35

Figure C-6. Utility scale: Agriculture land with land/slope/solar resource ...................................35

Figure C-7. Agriculture top 25 sites by area (large-scale commercial PV) ...................................36

Figure C-8. Agriculture top 25 sites by area (utility-scale PV) .....................................................36

Figure C-9. Agriculture top 25 sites by area (CSP) .......................................................................37

Figure C-10. LCOE maps of sites with highest solar resource (large-scale commercial PV on 

barren, invasive species, and disturbed lands) .........................................................................37

Figure C-11. LCOE maps of sites with highest solar resource (large-scale commercial PV on 

agricultural lands) ....................................................................................................................38

Figure C-12. LCOE maps of sites with highest solar resource (utility-scale PV on barren, 

invasive species, and disturbed lands) .....................................................................................38

Figure C-13. LCOE maps of sites with highest solar resource (utility-scale PV on 

agricultural lands) ....................................................................................................................39

Figure C-14. LCOE maps of sites with highest solar resource (CSP on barren, invasive species, 

and disturbed lands) .................................................................................................................39

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at www.nrel.gov/publications.
vii 

Figure C-15. LCOE maps of sites with highest solar resource (CSP on agricultural lands) .........40

Figure C-16. All contaminated sites ..............................................................................................40

Figure C-17. Contaminated sites with land/slope restrictions (large-scale commercial PV) ........41

Figure C-18. Contaminated sites with land/slope restrictions (utility-scale PV)...........................41

Figure C-19. Contaminated sites with land/slope/solar restrictions (CSP)....................................42

Figure C-20. Levelized cost of electricity map (large-scale commercial PV on federal lands, 

minimum solar resource of 6 kWh/m2

/day) .............................................................................42

Figure C-21. Levelized cost of electricity map (large-scale commercial PV on non-federal 

lands, minimum solar resource of 6 kWh/m2

/day) ..................................................................43

Figure C-22. Levelized cost of electricity map (large-scale commercial PV on federal lands, 

no minimum solar resource) ....................................................................................................43

Figure C-23. Levelized cost of electricity map (large-scale commercial PV on non-federal 

lands, no minimum solar resource) ..........................................................................................44

Figure C-24. Levelized cost of electricity map (utility-scale PV on federal lands, minimum 

solar resource of 6 kWh/m2/day) .............................................................................................44

Figure C-25. Levelized cost of electricity map (utility-scale PV on non-federal lands, 

minimum solar resource of 6 kWh/m2/day) .............................................................................45

Figure C-26. Levelized cost of electricity map (CSP on federal lands, minimum solar resource 

of 6 kWh/m2/day) .....................................................................................................................45

Figure C-27. Levelized cost of electricity map (CSP on non-federal lands, minimum solar 

resource of 6 kWh/m2

/day) ......................................................................................................46

List of Tables

Table 1. PV and CSP Screening Criteria .........................................................................................4

Table 2. PV and CSP System Characteristics for SAM Analysis ....................................................5

Table 3. Total Area of Land Cover Types Filtered for Solar Development Suitability (Millions 

of Acres).....................................................................................................................................6

Table 4. Total Potential Solar Capacity on Land Cover Types (GW Installed Capacity) ...............7

Table 5. LCOE Real in $/kWh for Contaminated Lands ...............................................................18

Table 6. LCOE Real in $/kWh for Disturbed Lands .....................................................................18

Table 7. Annual Jobs and Economic Impacts During Operating Years for Contaminated Sites ..22

Table 8. Annual Jobs and Economic Impacts During Operating Years for Disturbed Sites and 

Agricultural Sites .....................................................................................................................23

Table B-1. Land Use Categories From NLCD ..............................................................................31

Table B-2. Land Use Categories for California .............................................................................31

Table B-3. Land Use Categories From SWREGAP ......................................................................32

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1 

1 Introduction

Utility-scale solar projects require large, relatively flat, contiguous areas of land for siting due to 

their design, the density of solar energy on the earth’s surface, and economies of scale. Certain 

environmental impacts are unavoidable with developments at this scale. Under the U.S. 

Department of Energy (DOE) SunShot Initiative goals, utility-scale solar installations are 

projected to result in the cumulative installation of approximately 302 gigawatts (GW) of solar 

photovoltaics (PV) and 28 GW of concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies by 2030 and 

632 GW of PV and 83 GW of CSP by 2050 (DOE 2012). To meet this ambitious target, the level 

of solar energy penetration would require 900,000–2,700,000 acres of land by 2030 and 

2,100,000–6,200,000 acres of land by 2050 (DOE 2012). In addition, the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) is undertaking a number of efforts to facilitate solar energy development by 

evaluating over 19 million acres of federal lands in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New 

Mexico, and Utah, with the potential for around 32 GW of installed utility-scale solar project 

capacity on BLM and nearby non-BLM lands in these states by 2030 (BLM/DOE 2012). 

Current site preparation and construction practices for utility-scale solar projects lead to direct 

environmental impacts (e.g., soil disturbance and habitat fragmentation) as well as indirect 

environmental impacts (e.g., changes in surface water quality due to soil erosion at the 

construction site), which may lead to long-term damage (BLM/DOE 2012). Most projects 

completely clear vegetation and grade land prior to construction, cover areas with gravel, and use 

water to suppress dust prior to and throughout construction; these activities lead to the need for 

environmental mitigation (BLM/DOE 2012). Furthermore, site preparation and operational 

activities can represent a substantial portion of non-technology costs (Ardani 2012). In addition, 

environmental and resource issues on pristine lands, if not properly addressed from the 

beginning, can delay or prevent solar deployment in specific areas and potentially lead to 

additional unplanned mitigation efforts and environmental litigation (Rivera 2011; Stanfield 

2011; D’Alessandro 2012). 

Many stakeholders have noted their preference for siting solar power development on marginal 

lands, including degraded and contaminated lands, over pristine land. Using marginal lands 

reduces stress on intact, undeveloped lands. These lands may also have existing on-site 

infrastructure, potentially lower transaction costs, greater public support for development, 

streamlined permitting and zoning processes, and are often already located close to roads, rail, 

and transmission (EPA 2012a). Feasibility studies confirm the potential benefits associated with 

utilizing contaminated sites for renewable energy projects (Simon and Mosey 2013a; Simon and 

Mosey 2013b; Steen et al. 2013; Salasovich and Mosey 2012; Salasovich and Mosey 2011; 

VanGeet and Mosey 2010; Lisell and Mosey 2010a; Lisell and Mosey 2010b). 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reported that there are over 468 

environmentally contaminated sites, each over 100 acres, just in the southwestern United States 

(EPA 2009). These sites represent over 7 million acres of land, or almost half of the total acreage 

of contaminated lands in the United States. Other studies have highlighted the potential for 

contaminated lands to be utilized by other types of renewable energy technologies, such as wind, 

biopower, and biofuels (Mosey et al. 2007). These results are consistent with this 

study’s analysis. 

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2 

Achieving the market penetration and cost reduction goals of the SunShot Initiative, or achieving 

high levels of penetration in areas with low levels of land availability, could require utility-scale 

solar installations to be designed and deployed in ways that maximize land-use efficiency and 

minimize negative biodiversity impacts. Through improved land-use efficiency, smart design, 

and ecological impact mitigation, utility-scale solar projects could achieve greater deployment 

levels to realize cost-reduction benefits from industry learning. 

This report examines the potential development of utility- and commercial-scale solar power on 

contaminated and disturbed lands. The report will further define what contaminated and 

disturbed lands are, assess the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and job impacts are for sitespecific locations, and look at overall non-technical barriers to development of solar on marginal 

lands. The report will allow for a better understanding about these sites and allow solar 

developers to more readily choose disturbed and contaminated sites for development. Incentive 

and policy mechanisms may address barriers to utilizing these sites. Identifying cost reduction 

measures for installing solar on marginal lands may lead to lower overall costs and higher levels 

of solar deployment. 

This report is available at no cost from the 

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at www.nrel.gov/publications.
3 

2 Methods

Potential contaminated and disturbed sites for solar development across the United States were 

identified using geographic information system (GIS) data, as well as key filtering and exclusion 

assumptions. NREL’s economic modeling analyzed the economic costs and impacts for top sites. 

This study provides a coarse overview of options and opportunities from a national perspective 

for solar development on disturbed and contaminated lands. As such, this study does not provide 

specific information that would be required for siting solar projects in specific locations, but it 

does offer perspectives on the magnitude and general location of promising areas for solar 

development. Estimates of potential solar development are based on existing sources of land 

cover data, basic filtering criteria, standard financial analyses, and simple economic 

impact analyses. 

2.1 Definitions and Data Sources

Environmentally contaminated lands are those contaminated by improper handling or disposal of 

toxic and hazardous materials and wastes. They are typically tracked and categorized by the EPA 

and include Superfund sites, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) sites, 

brownfields, and abandoned mine lands (AMLs) (EPA 2009). Other contaminated properties are 

tracked by state voluntary cleanup programs (VCPs). Data sources used categorized 

contaminated sites by land ownership. Sites were classified as either federally owned land or 

non-federally owned land. Federal lands include federally owned RCRA and Superfund sites. 

Landfills, abandoned mine lands, brownfields, and non-federally owned RCRA and Superfund 

sites, are classified as non-federal lands. 

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) defines disturbed lands as land in an altered and 

often non-vegetated state due to disturbances. They are different from environmentally 

contaminated lands and may include former industrial sites, various types of intensively used 

agricultural lands, public lands that have been impacted by activities such as livestock grazing or 

the use of off-road vehicles, and mining or oil and gas development lands. Disturbed lands are 

not designated by the EPA as environmentally contaminated yet still might not be suitable for 

productive agricultural use. For the purposes of this study, the following are considered 

disturbed lands: 

• Potentially and formerly contaminated lands 

• Barren lands 

• Invasive species-impacted lands 

• Other disturbed lands (e.g., recently burned, gravel pits). 

Barren lands are lands of limited ability to support life, and invasive species lands contain nonindigenous plants or animal species that can harm the environment. Detailed definitions on 

disturbed, barren, and invasive species lands can be found in Appendix B. 

Disturbed land cover data were retrieved from three primary sources: the California Gap 

Analysis Project (GAP) for California, the Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project 

(SWREGAP) for southwestern states, and the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) for all 

other states (Homer et al. 2007; Lowry et al. 2005; Lennartz et al. 2008). Each dataset had 

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4 

slightly different land cover categories and definitions. No single definition of disturbed lands 

has been accepted, and the amount of such land and its suitability for solar development should 

be further clarified by future research. For this study, land cover types from all datasets were 

aggregated into the following categories: barren lands, invasive species land, disturbed land, and 

agricultural land. Due to the potential differences and overlap in methods and definitions across 

datasets, barren lands, invasive species lands, and disturbed lands were aggregated into one 

category (BID). Because the total amount of agricultural lands is more abundant than barren, 

invasive species and disturbed lands and because solar projects are already being planned on 

agricultural lands, separate analyses for agricultural lands were performed. Further definitions 

and a mapping of land cover categories for data sources to land use categories are provided in 

Appendices A and B. 

Solar energy projects are categorized and analyzed by technology type (PV and CSP) as well as 

size (commercial-scale and utility-scale). All solar technologies were assumed to require at least 

10 acres of land for every megawatt (MW) installed (DOE 2012). CSP projects, which are 

generally developed at the utility-scale, were assumed to be at least 50 MW in capacity, and thus 

required a minimum of 500 contiguous acres. Commercial-scale PV projects were assumed to be 

1–10 MW in capacity and thus required land between 10–100 contiguous acres. Utility-scale PV 

projects were assumed to be at least 10 MW in capacity, and thus required a minimum of 

100 contiguous acres. Commercial-scale and utility-scale PV projects are separated to highlight 

the variety of and extent of available lands as well as to provide information for different types 

of project developers. 

2.2 Filtering Criteria

Key parameters within the land cover datasets were filtered to gauge how conducive certain sites 

would be for potential solar development. Important parameters include relatively flat terrain, a 

minimum solar resource (for CSP), and minimum contiguous land area to be considered 

financially attractive. Disturbed and contaminated lands differ in how the data were presented;

disturbed lands are more likely to be represented as contiguous areas with a defined shape, while 

contaminated lands represent a discrete, individual site with an acreage designation but without a 

described shape. All types of projects required an average slope of land of less than 5% (Mehos 

et al. 2009). CSP projects had an additional restriction of requiring a solar resource of at least 

6 kWh/m2/day due to technology requirements (DOE 2012). PV and CSP screening criteria are 

summarized in Table 1. Furthermore, the 25 largest sites (in acres) were identified and evaluated. 

Table 1. PV and CSP Screening Criteria

Criterion CSP (utility-scale) PV (utility-scale) PV (commercial-scale)

Resource >6 kWh/m2/day annual 

average direct normal

N/A N/A

Slope <5% <5% <5%

Contiguous Land 

Area 

>500 acres >100 acres 10-100 acres

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5 

2.3 SAM Analysis

DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) System Advisor Model (SAM) was 

used to predict performance and cost of energy for the development of large-scale commercial 

PV, utility-scale PV, and CSP solar technologies for contaminated and disturbed lands across the 

United States (NREL 2013). Using site location (latitude and longitudes coordinates), we 

analyzed and estimated annual energy generation and LCOE for the top 25 largest potential 

contaminated and disturbed sites. SAM Version 2012.5.11 was utilized for the purposes of this 

analysis. Solar system costs can be quite dynamic, and current PV and CSP costs might be much 

lower than costs considered in this report. 

For CSP projects, SAM technology inputs represented a dry-cooled 100-MW parabolic trough 

system. The SAM technology input “PVWatts System Model” was used for a 5-MW large-scale 

commercial PV project and a 20-MW utility-scale PV system. Utility-scale CSP and PV 

technology simulations used the default financial settings of an independent power producer 

(IPP), while large-scale commercial PV simulations used financing settings characterized by a 

commercial power purchasing agreement (PPA). Table 2 summarizes PV and CSP system 

characteristics and parameters for the SAM analysis. 

Table 2. PV and CSP System Characteristics for SAM Analysis

Characteristic CSP (parabolic trough) PV (utility-scale) PV (commercial-scale)

Capacity 100 MW 20 MW 5 MW

Cooling System Dry N/A N/A

Axis-Tracking N/A Single Single

Energy Storage 6 hours N/A N/A

Financial Settings Default Independent 

Power Producer

Default Independent 

Power Producer

Default Commercial Power 

Purchasing Agreement

2.4 JEDI Analysis

NREL’s Jobs and Economic Development Impact (JEDI) model measures the economic impacts 

of a solar project (NREL 2012). JEDI evaluates the number of jobs created and economic 

impacts to a specific local area during the construction and operating phases of an energy project. 

The JEDI model was used to evaluate the differences in jobs and economic impact between 

states. This study did not attempt to compare the difference between JEDI results for a

contaminated or disturbed site with greenfield sites, which is an area of future analysis. 

We performed JEDI simulations of CSP and PV technologies consistent with the characteristics 

of the SAM analysis (see Table 2). The solar cell material input for both large-scale and utilityscale PV was crystalline silicon, and the system tracking option was fixed mount. The 

construction year period started in 2013, and default project costs settings were used. 

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6 

3 Results

3.1 Land and Solar Potential

Results from the GIS and filtering analysis show that of the 62 million acres of BID land in the 

United States, 16 million acres would be sufficiently flat and in sufficiently large contiguous 

plots for PV development. Of those, 1.1 million acres have solar resource over 6 kWh/m2/day, 

making them potentially suitable for CSP development. Agricultural land resources are larger 

than BID land, accounting for approximately 380 million acres. Of these, 270 million acres are 

sufficiently flat and large enough for PV development, and 9.0 million acres have solar resources 

suitable for CSP development. Contaminated lands make up a smaller portion of total land than 

BID lands, at 16 million acres. Of those, approximately 3.7 million acres could potentially be 

suitable for PV development, with 0.7 million acres having solar resources suitable for CSP 

development (Table 3).

Table 3. Total Area of Land Cover Types Filtered for Solar Development Suitability (Millions 

of Acres)

Land type Total area

(millions of acres)

Area after land and 

slope restrictions 

(millions of acres)

Area after solar 

resource restrictions 

(6kWh/m2

/day)

Agriculture 380 270 9.0

Disturbed/invasive/barren 62 16 1.1

Contaminated lands1 16 3.7 0.7

As DOE SunShot goals call for 632 GW of PV and 83 GW of CSP to be deployed by 2050, 

conservative land-use estimates of this study (10 acres per MW) show that SunShot solar 

deployment goals could be met entirely by siting solar energy projects on disturbed and 

environmentally contaminated lands (Table 4). In addition, although existing agricultural land 

could potentially play an important role in future solar energy development, agricultural lands 

would not be required for solar development to meet the SunShot goals. While not every 

identified disturbed and contaminated site will be suitable for solar energy development, these 

lands offer a starting point for siting projects in locations that could minimize environmental 

impacts, and include both public and private land. 

 

1 For contaminated lands on federal property, we conservatively estimate that only 10% of the land area is suitable 

for solar energy development, based on similar assumptions in prior studies (e.g., EPA 2009). Without this 

assumption, total contaminated land available after land and slope restrictions would be 13 million acres, and the 

total contaminated land available after land, slope, and solar resource restrictions would be 6 million acres. 

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7 

Table 4. Total Potential Solar Capacity on Land Cover Types (GW Installed Capacity)

Land type Total PV installed 

capacity potential (GW)

Total CSP installed 

capacity potential (GW)

Agriculture 27,000 900

Disturbed/invasive/barren 1,600 110

Contaminated lands 370 70

DOE SunShot Goals 632 83

Figures 1–3 show solar development potential related to the top 25 largest disturbed lands sites. 

Figure 1 covers utility-scale CSP projects on BID lands, Figure 2 presents the potential for 

utility-scale PV projects on BID lands, and Figure 3 displays large-scale commercial CSP 

projects on BID lands. Additional maps displaying the top 25 disturbed land sites for large-scale 

commercial, utility, and CSP technology on agricultural lands can be found in Appendix C. 

Figures 4–9 show solar development potential for the largest contaminated sites. Figure 4 

includes the largest contaminated sites that also meet solar resource criteria for utility-scale CSP 

projects on federal lands. Figures 5 and 6, respectively, present utility-scale PV project potential, 

and large-scale commercial PV project potential, on the largest contaminated sites on federal 

lands. The remaining figures related to the largest contaminated sites cover CSP project potential 

on non-federal lands (Figure 7), utility-scale PV project potential on non-federal lands 

(Figure 8), and large-scale commercial PV project potential on non-federal lands (Figure 9). 

Additional maps displaying all contaminated sites for large-scale commercial PV, utility PV, and 

CSP technology can be found in Appendix C. 

This report is available at no cost from the 

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8 

Criteria: Slope <= 5%; size >= 500 acres; solar quality >= 6 kWh/m2

/day; Sources: UCSB Biogeography Lab; Southwest 

Regional Gap Analysis Project; USGS Gap Analysis Project. 

Figure 1. Top 25 largest sites for CSP development on barren, invasive species, and

disturbed lands

Total Area (Acres)

A 37,025 F 17,588 K 25,951 P 20,453 U

B 13,948 G 15,901 L 54,131 Q 145,371 V

C 16,664 H 20,418 M 45,943 R 21,557 W

D 45,038 I 60,805 N 24,986 S 20,064 X

E 21,402 J 25,667 O 38,470 T 18,620 Y

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9 

Criteria: Slope <= 5%; size >= 100 acres; solar quality = not applicable; 

Sources: UCSB Biogeography Lab; Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project; USGS Gap Analysis Project

Figure 2. Top 25 largest sites for utility-scale PV development on barren, invasive species, and 

disturbed lands

A 111,231 F 45,033 K 25,859 P 25,803 U 72,212

B 41,986 G 23,961 L 68,662 Q 40,636 V 214,313

C 26,403 H 43,319 M 57,902 R 82,654 W 24,529

D 65,753 I 27,940 N 25,077 S 26,064 X 65,515

E 34,937 J 33,112 O 61,015 T 48,003 Y 26,269

Total Area (Acres)

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at www.nrel.gov/publications.
10 

Criteria: Slope <= 5%; size 10 - 99 acres; solar quality = not applicable; Sources: UCSB 

Biogeography Lab; Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project; USGS Gap Analysis 

Project

Figure 3. Top 25 largest sites for large-scale commercial PV development on barren, invasive 

species, and disturbed lands

Total Area (Acres)

Largest sites range from 99.8 to 99.9 acres

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
11 

Criteria: Slope <= 5%; size >= 500 acres; solar quality >= 6 kWh/m2/day; 

Sources: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; RE-Powering America’s Land

Figure 4. Top 25 largest sites for CSP development on federally owned contaminated lands

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
12 

Criteria: Slope <= 5%; size >= 100 acres; solar quality = not applicable; 

Figure 5. Top 25 largest sites for utility-scale PV development on federally owned 

contaminated lands

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
13 

Sources: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; RE-Powering America’s Land

Criteria: Slope <= 5%; size 10 - 99 acres; solar quality = not applicable; 

Sources: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; RE-Powering America’s Land

Figure 6. Top 25 largest sites for large-scale commercial PV development on federally owned 

contaminated lands

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
14 

Criteria: Slope <= 5%; size > 500 acres; solar quality >= 6 kWh/m2

/day; 

Sources: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; RE-Powering America’s Land

Figure 7. Top 25 largest sites for CSP development on non-federally owned contaminated lands

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
15 

Criteria: Slope <= 5%; size >= 100 acres; solar quality = not applicable; 

Sources: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; RE-Powering America’s Land

Figure 8. Top 25 largest sites for utility-scale PV development on non-federally owned 

contaminated lands

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
16 

Criteria: Slope <= 5%; size 10 - 99 acres; solar quality = not applicable; 

Figure 9. Top 25 largest sites for large-scale commercial PV development on non-federally owned 

contaminated lands

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
17 

4 SAM Results

4.1 Levelized Costs of Electricity

LCOE for both PV and CSP technologies on contaminated and disturbed lands was evaluated in 

SAM. LCOE values can vary greatly due to location, technology, and solar resource. For 

example, a large-scale commercial PV site in Phelan, California, that has a solar resource of 

greater than 6 kWh/m2

/day, can generate approximately 8,440 MWh annually at a cost of 

~$0.15/kWh, while a site in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, with a solar quality of 4 kWh/m2

/day, 

will generate approximately 5,300 MWh at a cost of ~$0.24/kWh. 

Figure 10 compares the various LCOE values with annual energy generated for the largest 

utility-scale PV potential sites on federal and non-federal lands. The figure not only reflects the 

relationship between annual energy generation, LCOE, and solar resource but also displays the 

distribution of where the top potential sites are located. In this case, the map displays the 

variations between non-federal and federal utility-scale PV sites. Additional maps showing other 

technologies, including CSP and large-scale commercial PV, can be found in Appendix C. 

Criteria: Slope <= 5%; size >= 100 acres; solar quality = not applicable; single-axis tracking

Sources: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; RE-Powering America’s Land

Figure 10. LCOE map of the 25 largest utility PV sites

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
18 

LCOE costs were calculated for each set of 25 top sites for both contaminated and disturbed 

lands (Tables 5 and 6, Figures 12 and 13). CSP LCOE values ranged from $0.17–$0.24/kWh; 

utility-scale PV sites ranged from $0.18–$0.31/kWh; and large-scale commercial PV sites ranged 

from $0.15–$0.26/kWh. 

Table 5. LCOE Real in $/kWh for Contaminated Lands

LSC = Large-scale commercial; SR = Solar resource of at least 6.0 kWh/m2/day.

Average Max Min

CSP Fed $0.196 $0.231 $0.168

CSP Non-Fed $0.194 $0.228 $0.173

PV Util Fed SR $0.193 $0.203 $0.185

PV Util Non-Fed SR $0.195 $0.206 $0.187

PV Util Fed $0.231 $0.284 $0.188

PV Util Non-Fed $0.250 $0.312 $0.191

PV LSC Fed SR $0.161 $0.167 $0.156

PV LSC Non-Fed SR $0.158 $0.169 $0.150

PV LSC Fed $0.209 $0.260 $0.156

PV LSC Non-Fed $0.223 $0.237 $0.186

Table 6. LCOE Real in $/kWh for Disturbed Lands

AG = Agricultural lands; BID = Barren, invasive species, and disturbed lands; LSC = Largescale commercial

Average Max Min

CSP AG $0.206 $0.241 $0.173

CSP BID $0.213 $0.244 $0.180

PV Util AG $0.190 $0.197 $0.184

PV Util BID $0.190 $0.196 $0.187

PV LSC AG $0.152 $0.159 $0.151

PV LSC BID $0.157 $0.159 $0.150

Median LCOE values and ranges show considerable variation in values within each technology 

(Figures 11 and 12). PV development on disturbed and contaminated lands with a solar resource 

of at least 6.0 kWh/m2

/day had less variation when compared to PV developments in areas with a 

lower solar resource. 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
19 

Figure 11. Box-and-whisker plot of LCOE in $/kWh for top disturbed sites

Low and high error bars represent minimum and maximum costs, respectively. Upper and lower ends of 

boxes represent the 75th and 25th percentiles and horizontal lines represent medians. AG = Agricultural 

lands; BID = Barren, invasive species, and disturbed lands; LSC = Large-scale commercial; SR = Solar 

resource of at least 6.0 kWh/m2

/day.

 

Figure 12. Box-and-whisker plot of LCOE in $/kWh for top contaminated sites 

Low and high error bars represent minimum and maximum costs, respectively. Upper and lower ends of 

boxes represent the 75th and 25th percentiles and horizontal lines represent medians. LSC = Large-scale 

commercial; SR = Solar resource of 6.0 kWh/m2

/day.

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
20 

4.2 JEDI Results

Jobs and economic impacts were evaluated for PV and CSP projects on contaminated and 

disturbed lands using the JEDI model. For all types of projects, jobs and economic impacts 

increase as the size of the project increases; a 100-MW project will create more jobs and more 

revenue to a state’s economy than a 5-MW project. Jobs and economic impacts also vary from 

state to state. As an example, a 100-MW CSP project on contaminated lands in Texas is expected 

to create around 1,927 jobs during construction and 96 permanent operating jobs, whereas a 

similar project in Arizona would create more jobs during construction (2,152) and during the 

operational phase (108). Despite this, due to differences in local economies and activities the 

Texas project would add approximately $380 million to the local economy during construction, 

whereas the Arizona project would only add $321 million during that time period. 

It is difficult to make a broad comparison among various sites, and sites should be assessed on an 

individual basis. The results of JEDI’s economic impacts are a general representation of how the 

impacts of a project can vary by region and state, and additional information on state variations 

are addressed elsewhere (NREL 2012). 

Figures 13, 14, 15, and 16 display the jobs created during the construction years and the amount 

of dollars (in millions) the construction of that project will bring to that state’s economy for each 

top site for contaminated and disturbed lands. As mentioned earlier, the size of the system has an 

important role in determining total level of impact, so a utility-scale project is likely to have a 

larger economic impact than a commercial-scale project, just due to its overall size. 

 

Figure 13. Number of jobs created for the construction of each project for contaminated sites 

LSC = Large-scale commercial; SR = Solar resource of at least 6.0 kWh/m2

/day. 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
21 

Figure 14. Amount of economic impacts for each location for contaminated sites

LSC = Large-scale commercial; SR = Solar resource of at least 6.0 kWh/m2

/day. 

Figure 15. Number of jobs created during construction of each project for disturbed sites and 

agricultural sites 

AG = Agricultural lands; BID = Barren, invasive species, and disturbed land; LSC = Large-scale 

commercial. 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
22 

Figure 16. Amount of economic impacts for each location for disturbed sites and agricultural sites

AG = Agricultural lands; BID = Barren, invasive species, and disturbed land; LSC = Large-scale 

commercial.

Tables 7 and 8 show the results for both contaminated and disturbed lands on the number of 

annual jobs created and the annual dollars (in millions) those jobs will add to each 

state’s economy. 

Table 7. Annual Jobs and Economic Impacts During Operating Years for Contaminated Sites

LSC = Large-scale commercial; SR = Solar resource of at least 6.0kWh/m2/day. 

Annual Jobs Annual Operating Economic 

Impacts (Millions)

CSP Fed (TX) 96.0 14.35

CSP Non-Fed (AZ) 108.0 11.93

PV Util Fed SR (NM) 6.0 0.49

PV Util Non-Fed SR (NV) 5.7 0.52

PV Util Fed (NM) 6.0 0.49

PV Util Non-Fed (MO) 6.1 0.56

PV LSC Fed SR (CA) 1.5 0.16

PV LSC Non-Fed SR (CA) 1.5 0.16

PV LSC Fed (MD) 1.4 0.13

PV LSC Non-Fed (PA) 1.5 0.15

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
23 

Table 8. Annual Jobs and Economic Impacts During Operating Years for Disturbed Sites and 

Agricultural Sites

AG = Agricultural lands; BID = Barren, invasive species, and disturbed lands; LSC = Large-scale commercial. 

Annual Jobs Annual Operating Economic 

Impacts (Millions)

CSP AG (CO) 99.0 14.41

CSP BID (TX) 96.0 14.35

PV Util AG (NV) 5.7 0.53

PV Util BID (AZ) 6.2 0.57

PV LSC AG (NM) 1.5 0.12

PV LSC BID (AZ) 1.5 0.14

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
24 

5 Discussion

Developing solar projects on contaminated and disturbed lands can provide advantages over 

development on currently productive or high ecosystem-value land. Current solar development 

practices can cause substantial impacts to land (e.g., soil disturbance, habitat fragmentation, or 

changes in surface water quality due to soil erosion at the construction site) (BLM/DOE 2012; 

DOE 2012). There are likely to be fewer negative environmental impacts to lands that are 

already degraded or damaged than land that is currently providing habitat and ecosystem services 

to a region. By avoiding additional environmental degradation and engaging community 

stakeholders early in the process, developers could potentially reduce the risk of project delays 

and the possibility of litigation, as well as establish a sustainable land development policy by 

reusing a portion of the over 20 million acres of contaminated lands currently tracked by EPA 

(EPA 2012b); this acreage is roughly equivalent to the State of Ohio. Many solar projects have 

been subject to environmental litigation due to perceived impacts on the environment 

(Glicksman 2011). Siting projects on already disturbed or contaminated lands may reduce the 

need for environmental mitigation activities. 

Degraded lands often are located in rural areas or in marginal lands of urban areas, which may be 

in need of economic revitalization. Siting a financially attractive project in an area without 

productive land opportunities could improve local economic conditions. Results from the JEDI 

analysis show potential economic benefits from construction jobs and economic impacts, as well 

as longer-term jobs during operation of solar energy projects. If the area is degraded from 

historical industrial activities or other activities that required electricity infrastructure, grid 

connection costs could be reduced by leveraging existing infrastructure. An emerging 

opportunity for solar projects are existing power plant sites (not considered in this study) that 

might be facing retirement or that could incorporate solar infrastructure into their operations. 

Despite the many advantages, there also could be some challenges posed by developing on 

disturbed and contaminated lands. If the area is remote, transmission costs, in addition to other 

infrastructure-related costs (e.g., road-building and temporary housing construction for workers), 

could be higher than a location closer to existing infrastructure. In addition, there are still likely 

to be habitat impacts that require mitigation, even when developing on previously disturbed 

lands. The identification of disturbed and contaminated lands may also be a challenge; lands that 

have been degraded and disturbed in the past may eventually become productive, healthy lands 

over time. Certain contaminated lands may have liability and regulatory challenges associated 

with their development. However, EPA is actively supporting renewable energy as a beneficial 

reuse and provides support to developers and system owners to address liability concerns 

(EPA 2012c). 

Solar projects being developed on agricultural lands might face competition challenges if land 

were to be taken out of food production to be used for energy production. There also could be 

concerns over the impact that projects would have on rural communities if they displace 

traditional agricultural activities. Areas of future study include the evaluation of the potential for 

co-location of solar energy development and agriculture and the use of solar energy projects to 

rehabilitate fallow and degraded agricultural lands. 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
25 

Disturbed and contaminated lands are found on a variety of federal lands, crossing many federal 

agency jurisdictions. As described above, DOE and the Department of the Interior have already 

been coordinating activities related to solar development on federal lands. This multi-agency 

approach could likely be built upon and improved by including coordinated input from DOE, 

Department of the Interior, Department of Defense, Department of Agriculture, and EPA. 

Results from this work are inherently limited by existing land cover datasets. While this study 

provides an initial estimate of the potential for solar projects to be located on disturbed and 

contaminated lands, it relies on existing sources of data for land cover. Existing sources can be 

outdated, leading to uncertainty over the feasibility of developing in certain areas. Furthermore, 

land cover datasets for adjacent regions and states may be developed with different 

methodologies, resulting in apparent land cover differences along political borders that are not 

supported by ground-truthing or satellite imagery analysis. There also is no commonly accepted 

definition for “disturbed” lands, which complicates efforts to select appropriate lands. While 

most developers and environmental organizations can agree that projects should be targeted for 

already disturbed land, there currently is no common understanding of what disturbed 

lands include. 

Future efforts could assist in providing a clear definition of what disturbed lands are and under 

what conditions they would be appropriate for solar development. Siting decisions could also be 

improved by including additional filtering criteria optimization tools for important siting 

components, such as proximity to transmission or other infrastructure, cost structures of certain 

utilities, and overlap with sensitive environmental regions. A more detailed analysis could also 

examine various agricultural parameters (e.g., revenue per acre, crop type, or water usage) to see 

how local incomes could be affected by new solar projects. This could be analyzed in 

conjunction with estimates of how solar development could affect national and regional levels of 

food and other agricultural production. Future work could also develop an interactive online 

siting tool, which could be implemented in an existing framework, such as the Solar Power 

Prospector,2

 to assist developers and interested stakeholders in identifying appropriate lands for 

solar development. 

Results of this work indicate that there is sufficient disturbed and contaminated land available for 

siting solar energy technologies to achieve SunShot Initiative solar deployment goals, without 

requiring the use of existing agricultural or other land in productive use. Future studies can build 

off this work to identify potential pathways and barriers to achieving this goal. 

 

2 Find the Solar Power Prospector at http://maps.nrel.gov/prospector.

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
26 

6 Conclusion

Of the estimated 80 million acres of contaminated and disturbed land in the United States, 

approximately 20 million acres could be suitable to host deployment of utility and commercialscale PV and CSP technologies, as examined in this report. The DOE SunShot Initiative goals 

could theoretically be met by development of solar projects on previously disturbed or 

contaminated lands. Future development efforts could prioritize this degraded land over 

pristine lands. 

The technology performance, costs, and economic impacts associated with new solar projects 

were analyzed for top 25 largest potential sites for CSP, utility-scale PV, and commercial-scale 

PV. Several characteristics, including LCOE, type of technology, solar resource, and energy 

generation, may vary greatly across sites and regions. LCOE values are generally lower in the 

Southwest, where solar resources are highest. 

One benefit of developing solar projects on disturbed and/or contaminated lands advantage is 

that these projects could stimulate and revitalize local and state economies in areas without many 

productive land uses. Other potential benefits of siting projects on disturbed and/or contaminated 

lands as opposed to productive lands include reduced delays due to litigation and other siting 

permitting processes as well as reduced requirements for purchasing environmental mitigation 

land. Conversely, the tradeoffs associated with developing solar power on contaminated and 

disturbed lands, compared to other lands, could lead to increased infrastructure costs or increased 

permitting requirements. 

Our report does not address whether CSP technologies are preferred over PV, but rather 

examines some of the tradeoffs that should be considered in identifying the best option to 

develop these lands. The report has identified locations and sites that may have high potential for 

development, and further analysis at a local or state level could contribute to a more complete 

assessment in the future. 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
27 

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at www.nrel.gov/publications.
30 

Appendix A. EPA Land Definitions

Abandon Mine Land (AML): Those lands, waters, and surrounding watersheds contaminated 

or scarred by extraction, beneficiation, or processing of ores and minerals. Abandoned mine 

lands include areas where mining or processing activity is temporarily inactive (EPA 2012a). 

Agricultural: Defined broadly as land used primarily for production of food and fiber 

(Anderson 2001). 

Barren: Land of limited ability to support life and in which less than one-third of the area has 

vegetation or other cover (Anderson 2001). It is an area of thin soil, sand, or rocks and if 

vegetation is present it is more widely spaces and scrubby. 

Brownfield: The term "brownfield site" means real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or 

reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous 

substance, pollutant, or contaminant (EPA 2012d). 

Disturbed: Land in an altered and often non-vegetated state that due to disturbances. 

Disturbances can be from mechanical means (forest clear-cutting, earthmoving, scraping, 

chaining, reservoir drawdown, and other human-induced changes) or from non-mechanical 

means (disturbances caused by wind, floods, fire, animals, etc.) (USGS 2012). 

Invasive Species: A non-indigenous plant or animal species that can harm the environment, 

human health, or the economy (EPA 2012e). 

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act site: A site that is subject to clean up under the 

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act due to past or current treatment, storage or disposal of 

hazardous wastes and that has historical releases of contamination (EPA 2012b). “RCRA 

brownfields” are RCRA facilities where reuse or redevelopment is slow due to real or perceived 

concerns about actual or potential contamination, liability, and RCRA requirements. 

Superfund: 1. The program operated under the legislative authority of CERCLA 

(Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980) and SARA 

(Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act) that funds and carries out EPA solid waste 

emergency and long-term removal and remedial activities. These activities include establishing 

the National Priorities List, investigating sites for inclusion on the list, determining their priority, 

and conducting and/or supervising cleanup and other remedial actions. 2. A fund set up under 

CERCLA to help pay for cleanup of hazardous waste sites and to take legal action to force those 

responsible for the sites to clean them up. The Superfund consists of funds from taxes imposed 

upon the petroleum and chemical industries, an environmental tax on corporations, and from 

general tax revenues (also known as Trust Fund and Hazardous Waste Superfund) (EPA 2012e). 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
31 

Appendix B. Land Classification System

Table B-1. Land Use Categories From NLCD

Land use category reported Land use category for this 

analysis 

Orchards Vineyards and Other High Structure 

Agriculture

Agriculture Cultivated Cropland

Pasture/Hay

Undifferentiated Barren Land Barren lands

Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland

Invasive species

Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial 

Grassland and Forbland

Introduced Upland Vegetation - Shrub

Disturbed, Non-specific

Disturbed

Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb 

Regeneration

Disturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration

Quarries, Mines, Gravel Pits and Oil Wells

Table B-2. Land Use Categories for California

Land use category reported

Land use category for this 

analysis

Cropland and Pasture

Agriculture

Irrigated row and field crops

Irrigated hayfield

Dryland grain crops

Rice fields

Confined Feeding Operations

Other Agricultural Land

Mixed barren land Barren lands

Quarries, and gravel pits Disturbed

Transitional bare areas

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
32 

Table B-3. Land Use Categories From SWREGAP

Land use category reported Land use category for this 

analysis 

Agriculture Agriculture

Barren Lands, Non-specific Barren lands

Invasive plants Invasive Species

Disturbed, non-specific Disturbed

Recently burned

Recently mined or quarried

Disturbed, Oil well

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
33 

Appendix C. Additional Maps

DISTURBED LANDS MAPS

Figure C-1. Total barren, invasive, disturbed (BID) land without any restrictions

Figure C-2. Total agriculture land without any restrictions

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
34 

Figure C-3. Large-scale commercial: BID land with land/slope restrictions

Figure C-4. Large-scale commercial: Agriculture land with land/slope restrictions

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
35 

Figure C-5. Utility scale: BID land with land/slope/solar restrictions

Figure C-6. Utility scale: Agriculture land with land/slope/solar resource

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
36 

Figure C-7. Agriculture top 25 sites by area (large-scale commercial PV)

Figure C-8. Agriculture top 25 sites by area (utility-scale PV)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
37 

Figure C-9. Agriculture top 25 sites by area (CSP) 

Figure C-10. LCOE maps of sites with highest solar resource (large-scale commercial PV on 

barren, invasive species, and disturbed lands)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
38 

Figure C-11. LCOE maps of sites with highest solar resource (large-scale commercial PV on 

agricultural lands)

Figure C-12. LCOE maps of sites with highest solar resource (utility-scale PV on barren, invasive 

species, and disturbed lands)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
39 

Figure C-13. LCOE maps of sites with highest solar resource (utility-scale PV on 

agricultural lands)

Figure C-14. LCOE maps of sites with highest solar resource (CSP on barren, invasive species, 

and disturbed lands)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
40 

Figure C-15. LCOE maps of sites with highest solar resource (CSP on agricultural lands)

CONTAMINATED LANDS MAPS

Figure C-16. All contaminated sites

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National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
41 

Figure C-17. Contaminated sites with land/slope restrictions (large-scale commercial PV)

Figure C-18. Contaminated sites with land/slope restrictions (utility-scale PV)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
42 

Figure C-19. Contaminated sites with land/slope/solar restrictions (CSP) 

Figure C-20. Levelized cost of electricity map (large-scale commercial PV on federal lands, 

minimum solar resource of 6 kWh/m2

/day) 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
43 

Figure C-21. Levelized cost of electricity map (large-scale commercial PV on non-federal lands, 

minimum solar resource of 6 kWh/m2

/day) 

Figure C-22. Levelized cost of electricity map (large-scale commercial PV on federal lands, no 

minimum solar resource)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
44 

Figure C-23. Levelized cost of electricity map (large-scale commercial PV on non-federal lands, no 

minimum solar resource)

Figure C-24. Levelized cost of electricity map (utility-scale PV on federal lands, minimum solar 

resource of 6 kWh/m2

/day) 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
45 

Figure C-25. Levelized cost of electricity map (utility-scale PV on non-federal lands, minimum 

solar resource of 6 kWh/m2

/day) 

Figure C-26. Levelized cost of electricity map (CSP on federal lands, minimum solar resource of 6 

kWh/m2

/day) 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
46 

Figure C-27. Levelized cost of electricity map (CSP on non-federal lands, minimum solar resource 

of 6 kWh/m2

/day)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.