About the Butterworth Landfill

The Butterworth Landfill is a nearly 180-acre site containing a former landfill closed in the early 1970s and placed on the EPA’s Superfund National Priorities List in 1986. These areas were used by local residents and industries to dispose of wastes.

This area was allegedly used to dispose of liquid wastes such as solvents and paint sludges. Industrial wastes disposed of at the landfill were allegedly in drums, which were buried, or simply dumped in liquid form on a working surface. The Remediation Plan (1999) indicates that from 1967-1971, about 3,000 to 4,000 yards of waste per day were received at the landfill.

Since remediation was completed in 2000, the site has been maintained as an open grass area with walking paths along the perimeter and an access road through the center providing access to the Grand River for public safety agencies.

Where is the site?

The Butterworth Landfill (orange shape) is located southwest of downtown Grand Rapids, directly adjacent to the Grand River on the south and east sides and borders the John Ball Neighborhood on the north side.

John Ball Neighborhood is one of Grand Rapids’ neighborhoods of focus – defined as census tracts with the highest percent of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color residents and the greatest disparities across all quality-of-life indicators (education, wealth, jobs, etc.).

What is planned for the site?

The City owns about 145 acres of the former landfill and is pursuing a nearly 2MW solar array that maximizes behind-the-meter delivery of electricity to the City’s Primary Circuit.

Any future development must be fully consistent with the Site’s remedial features and institutional controls to ensure long-term access to and protection of the Site’s remedies

What is the Primary Circuit?

The City’s Primary Circuit (PC) is a 12,470/7200 volt electrical distribution system that the City owns and operates. The PC received 19,285,000 kilowatt hours of electricity from Consumers Energy in 2022 and distributed it to 18,000 streetlights, traffic signals, and approximately 120 facilities throughout the city.

With $3 million in funding from the State of Michigan, construction has begun to extend the PC to the Butterworth site. This adjacency will reduce the overall project cost and provide for easier interconnection of the solar array to the PC.

The City's Primary Objectives

1. Supply the optimal amount of solar-powered electricity to the City’s Primary Circuit, beginning in 2027.

2. Maximize direct benefits for the Grand Rapids community (emissions reductions, air pollution reduction, affordability, electrification, jobs, etc.).

3. Demonstrate innovative approaches to deployment of solar in conjunction with additional beneficial reuse (i.e. distributed storage/resiliency, parking, recreation, interpretive/educational uses)

4. Leverage as much external funding as possible, including but not limited to federal, state, philanthropic and private dollars to support solar at Butterworth.