Congressman Al Green Joins Mayor Sylvester Turner to Announce Updates on Sunnyside Solar Community Project

(Houston, TX) — On Friday, April 22, 2022, Congressman Al Green will join Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner to announce upcoming plans on the Sunnyside Solar Farm, which is located in the Ninth Congressional District. Congressman Green released the following statement:

“The Sunnyside Solar Project is not only a revitalization project of a former landfill into the largest urban solar farm in the United States, it is also a rectification of the sins of our past. In the 1930s, the City of Houston approved a 240-acre landfill to be built, consequently creating a host of issues for the residents of Sunnyside, including health disparities and safety hazards,” Congressman Al Green stated. “Today, on Earth Day, the question isn’t whether Sunnyside will survive, the question is, how will Sunnyside thrive? The answer is Sunnyside is positioned to thrive as the solar energy epicenter of urban America.”

Congressman Al Green – who secured $750,000 in federal funding for this project and whose congressional district includes the Sunnyside neighborhood – added, “This collaborative effort with the City of Houston, Sunnyside community, and federal government will repurpose the decommissioned landfill into a safe, sustainable, and minimally invasive solar farm that will generate clean energy and reduce our carbon footprint. It is estimated to produce enough electricity to power approximately 5,000 homes, as well as bring job opportunities and training to local residents and contractors. The Sunnyside Solar Farm is a major step toward renewable energy that will fuel the future and potentially position Sunnyside at the forefront of renewable energy production. It can also create a greener Houston. I salute Mayor Turner for his endless support of this project and thank community leaders for their advocacy. I look forward to future collaborations that will position communities such as Sunnyside to not only survive, but also thrive.”

Mayor Sylvester Turner concluded, “The City of Houston extends its sincere gratitude to Congressman Green for his commitment to workforce development in one of our city’s most underserved communities, Sunnyside, by securing $750,000 through the funded community programs in the omnibus spending bill. The EmPowering Solar Jobs program focuses on preparing and accelerating STEM career opportunities for youth and adults living in under-resourced neighborhoods. Specifically, this program will train and place 175 Houstonians from Sunnyside and other Complete Communities neighborhoods by creating an employment pipeline for program graduates by September 2022.”