by Colleen Hammond | Next Generation Newsroom
What was once a towering slag heap is set to become Pittsburgh’s newest source of green energy.
Nestled along Nine Mile Run, the City of Pittsburgh plans to build an array of solar panels to provide energy to homes in the nearby Swisshelm Park neighborhood.
“Reckoning with Pittsburgh’s industrial past by investing in remediation and green energy is crucial for our future,” said City Councilperson Barb Warwick. The new solar site will be in her district.
Until 1972, the small section of Frick Park between Squirrel Hill and Swisshelm Park overflowed with slag, a byproduct of steel manufacturing containing toxic metals. In the early 2000s, the Environmental Protection Agency designated funds to restore Nine Mile Creek from its polluted past.
Starting in early 2025, the Urban Redevelopment Authority will break ground on a new 15-acre solar “farm” in Swisshelm Park, according to URA spokesperson Lilly Freedman. The small array of panels is expected to generate enough electricity to power multiple homes.
Before the panels can be installed, the URA must “remediate” the site, she said.
To contain the toxic metals in the soil, Freedman said the URA will be taking “a cap and cover approach.”
“The cap and cover approach to remediation means that clean fill and topsoil will be delivered to effectively seal the contamination of the site. The slag is intended not to be disturbed to minimize contamination,” Freedman said.
Once this step is completed, the URA plans to have functioning solar panels on the site by 2026, Freeman said. The panels will be managed day-to-day by Green Edge Technologies, according to co-founder David Anglero.
“We’re rethinking how we utilize vacant land. We want to find ways to make vacant plots an asset to the community,” he said.
Anglero anticipates this project will be the first of many in the region.
“We’ve started looking at all these vacant sites across the municipalities to make them more resilient in the coming years,” he said.
Anglero said he expects green initiatives like the new solar farm to become multifunctional to serve greater environmental purposes. In addition to the solar panels, he predicts the project will eventually include a run-off catch system designed to collect rainwater off the solar panels. He also sees the opportunity for wind power at Nine Mile Run, though he did not specify details of the phase of the project.
“In order to truly be a livable city, we need air that’s safe to breathe, water that’s safe to drink, and infrastructure that’s resilient enough to weather climate change,” Warwick said.
A $2 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is U.S. is part of the funding for the project.
At this year’s mayoral budget address, Mayor Ed Gainey touted the project as “a step forward” for the city. He also commended city councilmembers Warwick and Erika Strassburger for their devotion to the project and clean energy initiatives.
The URA expects the panels to be fully operational by summer 2026, Freedman said.
“The Swisshelm Park solar project is an example of the kind of work we need to do to evolve into a city where every community is safe and healthy,” Warwick said.
Colleen Hammond is a staff writer at Next Generation Newsroom, part of the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University. Colleen previously worked as a breaking news reporter at The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., where she helmed coverage on gun violence, public safety, criminal courts and juvenile justice.
Reach her at co*************@po*******.edu. Find out more information on foundation and corporate funders here.
