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MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Solar Plant Begins Generating Electricity From Former Anoka County Landfill in Ramsey
RAMSEY, MN (September 21, 2026). A 4-megawatt solar installation has begun commercial operation on part of the Anoka-Ramsey Closed Landfill, transforming land with limited redevelopment potential into an electricity-generating site capable of supplying the annual needs of approximately 750 homes.
Connexus Energy’s Ramsey II Renewable Station began operating September 2 at 14730 Sunfish Lake Boulevard NW in Ramsey.
The installation includes approximately 8,700 solar panels spread across 24 acres of the landfill’s buffer area. Connexus estimates that the facility will generate approximately 7,900 megawatt-hours of electricity annually.
The project uses single-axis tracking equipment that allows its panels to follow the sun during the day. Its bifacial panels can generate electricity from both surfaces, including sunlight reflected from the ground and snow during Minnesota winters.
The development represents a new use for land that cannot readily support conventional construction because of the waste buried beneath it.
The Anoka-Ramsey Landfill began operating as an open dump in 1967, obtained its first state permit in 1972 and closed in 1993. The state-owned, 267-acre property contains approximately 5.7 million cubic yards of waste.
A Decade-Long Path to Construction
The project resulted from years of environmental review, legislation and negotiations over restrictions affecting closed landfill property.
In 2019, the Minnesota Legislature instructed the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board to evaluate closed landfills administered through the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s Closed Landfill Program for possible solar development.
The Anoka-Ramsey site ranked among the five strongest candidates out of 111 properties studied.
Lawmakers approved site-specific legislation in 2021 that removed bonding restrictions that had prevented solar development at the property.
Connexus Energy is leasing the land from the state. The lease payments will support a state account that may be used to encourage solar development at other closed landfills.
“This project has been more than 10 years in the making, and we’re proud to see Ramsey II Renewable Station now serving our members,” Connexus CEO Brian Burandt said in announcing the project’s operation.
Cedar Creek Energy of Blaine constructed the facility and will provide continuing maintenance and operational services.
Kearsarge Energy LP financed and owns the project through a 30-year sublease. Connexus will purchase the electricity, generating capacity and renewable-energy attributes under a 30-year power-purchase agreement.
The parties have not publicly described the financial terms of the land lease or power-purchase agreement in the project announcement.
A Potential Model for Other Closed Landfills
Native vegetation intended to support pollinators has been planted beneath the panels. Connexus said it has incorporated pollinator-friendly planting into its solar developments since 2014.
The Ramsey facility is one of several Minnesota projects testing whether closed landfills can host energy infrastructure without disturbing the waste containment systems beneath them.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency identifies closed landfills in St. Michael, Lake Elmo and Ramsey as sites where solar installations either support landfill infrastructure or provide electricity to the grid.
Because many closed landfills have limited commercial or residential redevelopment potential, solar installations can return portions of the land to productive use while generating lease revenue. Each project must still account for settlement, buried waste, methane controls, groundwater monitoring and the integrity of the landfill’s protective cover.
The Ramsey II Renewable Station gives Anoka County a direct role in Minnesota’s effort to determine whether environmentally constrained properties can contribute to the state’s energy system without reopening or disturbing their underlying waste sites.
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