‘Steel Sun’ project would add solar panels near wind turbines at former Bethlehem Steel site in Lackawanna

Project to install 13,000 panels would turn brownfields at former site of Bethlehem Steel into one of the largest solar energy farms in state

Installation of solar panels is expected to begin this fall at the Steel Winds wind farm on the former Bethlehem Steel site. Derek Gee/Buffalo News

By Jane Kwiatkowski A vast wasteland from a past generation’s steelmaking would be transformed into a high-tech energy producer under a plan to install 13,000 solar panels on brownfields at the former Bethlehem Steel site in Lackawanna.

The project, called “Steel Sun,” would turn the brownfields into one of the largest solar farms in New York State, city and project officials say.

They expect installation of the ground-mounted solar panels to start by this fall, with completion by year’s end.

“We think it’s a great reuse of industrial property that you really can’t build anything on,” said Fred Heinle, director of development for Lackawanna. “Solar panels are good for that because there is no ground penetration. They sit on top of the site.”

The 13,000 ground-mounted 3-feet-by-5-feet panels would face south, with a bit of a tilt.

The combined surface area of the panels would be the equivalent of 69 tennis courts.

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