USA: Valley Metro has awarded Natural Power & Energy a $2·88m contract to install a 780 kW solar generating plant on land and car parking facilities at its light rail operations and maintenance facility in Phoenix, Arizona.
The plant will be capable of producing 1·19 million kWh a year, meeting 16% of the depot’s energy needs and saving an estimated $100 000 a year.
Installation is being supported by a $2·7m grant from the Federal Transit Administration’s Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas & Energy Reduction (TIGGER) programme.
‘Adding solar as an energy source expands our menu of daily sustainable practices at Valley Metro, which includes low-emissions fleet and water reclamation systems,’ said Valley Metro CEO Steve Banta.
- A feature article on Valley Metro appears in the March 2014 issue of Metro Report International.
