A former slag heap in Pittsburgh’s East End is one step closer to becoming a solar farm.

The sprawling lot near the edge of Frick Park will soon be cleaned up to make way for a 15-acre solar farm and expansion of green space thanks to $2 million in federal funding announced Tuesday.

Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority said remediation construction is scheduled to start in the first quarter of next year.

The authority plans to open a request for bids for the solar development portion of the project in the second half of 2025, with solar panel construction expected to begin in early 2026.

“This is a critical investment for the future of clean energy in Pittsburgh,” Mayor Ed Gainey said in a statement. “Together we are shaping a healthier environment and improving quality of life for our residents and future generations.”

U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, announced $2 million in funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that will be used to fill a funding gap for the $8.35 million remediation project.

Lee sent a letter to the EPA in December advocating for the funding.

URA Executive Director Susheela Nemani-Stanger thanked Lee for her help with the funding and said remediation is a “step toward a future redevelopment that will provide clean energy, create a healthier community, and increase access to and maximize all that Frick Park has to offer.”

City officials previously described the solar farm as a source of pollution-free energy that could be offered to customers at a low cost and a way to diversify energy sources for the local power grid.

The potential for a solar farm on the site in Pittsburgh’s Swisshelm Park neighborhood has been discussed for years.

The site sits along the Nine Mile Run section of Frick Park, in between Swisshelm Park and the Summerset area of Squirrel Hill.

It was formerly owned by Duquesne Slag and was a dumping ground for steel slag until 1972, according to a press release.

Lee said there are nearly 17 million cubic yards of slag piled as high as 120 feet with very steep banks, and the area is contaminated with heavy metals and volatile organic compounds.

Zach Barber, an environmental advocate from Squirrel Hill, said he is ecstatic about the solar farm project. He regularly runs along Nine Mile Run trail past the slag heaps.

He said the site is currently an “ugly eyesore” and he is excited at the prospect of it being transformed.

“It is not only going to help clean up the air and address climate change but also will enhance the park system we already have,” Barber said.

EPA funding has been used before in the area when Nine Mile Run creek was restored in the 2000s.

Other recent activity in the area includes the pending sale announced this week of the Irish Centre site in Squirrel Hill to the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, which will host an edible garden program there.

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