Some of the most strategic potential clean energy sites in the U.S. don’t need to be found. They already exist—on land most companies have written off.

Across industries, Fortune 500 companies are sitting on thousands of acres of environmentally impacted property: former refineries, capped landfills, and Superfund-designated sites. These parcels are often treated as legacy burdens—too risky to sell, too complex to redevelop, too marginal to matter.

But that framing is outdated.

And overlooking it may mean leaving millions in energy value on the table.

In today’s market, these sites can be transformed into high-performance clean energy assets, generating passive revenue, offsetting emissions, powering remediation systems, and demonstrating ESG impact that goes beyond reporting. They’re already on your books. They’re often close to energy infrastructure and demand and even though federal incentives have slowed down, they are still financially viable.

Yet, most companies are still overlooking them.

A Market Hiding in Plain Sight

The U.S. EPA tracks over 490,000 contaminated sites across the country—landfills, brownfields, and Superfund properties screened for renewable energy suitability. In total, these parcels represent over 44 million acres of underused land.

Despite that, only about 110 Superfund sites currently host solar, wind, or battery installations, totaling nearly 2 GW of capacity—enough to power over 280,000 homes.

This isn’t because the rest were deemed unviable. In fact, most were never seriously evaluated beyond an initial GIS screen. The EPA’s process assesses sunlight, slope, acreage, and proximity to infrastructure—it flags technical potential, not legal or financial readiness. What’s missing is deeper analysis—and the right team to navigate complexity.

The real barriers are institutional:

• Ownership and liability concerns that leave land in limbo
• Compliance fears and environmental obligations without the right support
• Disjointed decision-making across sustainability, remediation, and real estate teams
• And an industry still biased toward greenfield simplicity over complexity

It’s not that these sites aren’t viable.

It’s that they’ve been overlooked.
And that’s the opportunity.

Verdantas exists to turn that opportunity into action. Our teams specialize in the gray areas others avoid—where regulatory complexity, environmental constraints, and commercial potential intersect. It’s not just about finding a suitable site. It’s about knowing how to unlock it.

You Already Own What the Grid Needs

According to reports, U.S. electricity demand is expected to rise by more than 20% by 2030, driven by data centers, AI infrastructure, industrial electrification, and EV adoption. Meanwhile, greenfield solar development is facing increased resistance, pressured by land use conflicts, interconnection bottlenecks, and local pushback.

In this landscape, impacted sites offer a strategic alternative. They’re often near load centers, close to existing substations, and insulated from the permitting conflicts facing undeveloped land. If you already own the acreage, you’ve skipped one of the most difficult—and expensive—steps in project development.

Let’s Do the Math

Let’s say only 10% of the EPA-screened land is ultimately redeveloped for solar. At ~6 acres per MW, that translates to:

• More than 730,000 MW of capacity
• Power for over 100 million homes
• More than $1 trillion in energy revenue over a 25-year PPA term, assuming $50/MWh

For a single landholder with 1,000 acres of legacy sites, that’s 120 to 150 MW of potential capacity—enough to generate up to $10 million annually in clean energy revenue or avoided utility spend.

And those economics don’t account for the federal support now available.

• Projects on brownfields or in environmental justice areas can still qualify for significant federal incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act and related bonus structures.
• Projects that begin construction before July 5, 2026, and are placed in service by July 5, 2030, can retain current credit levels under the continuity safe harbor.
• Projects starting after July 5, 2026, may still be eligible if placed in service by the end of 2027.
• Incentives for brownfield redevelopment and environmental justice (EJ) sites remain active but are subject to ongoing legislative changes.

This Isn’t Just a Clean Energy Story. It’s a Business One.

Redeveloping environmentally impacted land with solar isn’t just a sustainability initiative—it’s a commercially sound investment strategy.

These projects turn underperforming or stranded assets into productive infrastructure, generating long-term financial and operational returns. They can generate recurring revenue through energy sales or power offsets, helping reduce exposure to volatile utility costs. They can lower the lifetime cost of remediation by powering environmental systems more efficiently and sustainably. And they can deliver credible Scope 2 emissions reductions, backed by on-site, auditable infrastructure like solar panels—rather than relying on purchased offsets that don’t guarantee direct renewable energy use.

But perhaps the most compelling business case is visibility. These projects show up. They transform overlooked land into active progress, providing stakeholders, regulators, and communities with tangible to see, measure, and trust.

For companies under mounting pressure to demonstrate both climate leadership and asset responsibility, this isn’t just about checking a box. It’s about activating real value from what was once considered a liability.

Verdantas: Navigating Complexity with Confidence

These projects don’t follow a standard playbook. They require more than solar expertise—they demand deep environmental fluency, regulatory coordination, and precision engineering that respects site constraints without compromising compliance.

That’s exactly where Verdantas excels.

We weren’t built as a solar firm. We come from the world of environmental complexity—engineers, scientists, and remediation specialists who’ve spent decades solving for what most developers avoid. We understand the liabilities these sites carry, the sensitivities regulators monitor, and the long-term realities of post-closure care.

And we know how to build around it. Our teams design clean energy systems that preserve cap integrity, maintain access to monitoring infrastructure, comply with deed restrictions, and align with agency requirements. We speak the language of both environmental and energy teams, translating between risk management and infrastructure delivery.

Verdantas is one of the few firms with credibility in both worlds—and the track record to deliver projects that are technically sound, financially viable, and regulatory-ready from day one.

This isn’t about proving what’s possible. We’ve already done it—on landfills, Superfund sites, refineries, and restricted brownfields. Now we’re helping others do the same.

Let’s Start with What You Already Have

If you’re a Fortune 500 company with legacy land, you may be sitting on untapped infrastructure, missed revenue, and a story worth telling.

Verdantas offers no-cost, portfolio-level evaluations to identify viable sites, assess environmental and permitting risks, and model early economics. You’ll receive:

• Site-level feasibility maps
• Clean energy sizing and interconnection insights
• Regulatory readiness signals
• Alignment opportunities with ESG and remediation strategies

No pitch. No assumptions. Just answers—grounded in technical and commercial reality.

Because your most valuable asset might not be what you build next—it might be what you’ve already overlooked. It’s something you already own. Let’s talk.