The Wall Street Journal reports that RGS Energy, the commercial and utility division of Real Goods Solar, Inc., has been selected by Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) to deploy a 425 kilowatt (kW) elevated solar power plant at its Hayward D6 Bus Facility in Hayward, California.
According to the article, RGS Energy will design, install, monitor and maintain the solar power plant at Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District's Hayward Bus Facility. The project involves the installation of a 14-foot high, 22,000-square-foot solar bus-port canopy, which will be capable of generating more than 15 million kWh over the next 25 years. Construction is scheduled to begin by the end of the year, with a target completion date of March 2014.
By harnessing energy from the sun,
Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District expects to reduce the facility's cost of electricity by at least $40,000 in the first year. This is expected to add up to more than $1 million over the next 25 years, while eliminating more than 24 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. According to RGS Energy, that's the equivalent of taking more than 2,340 cars off the road (per EPA-based data).
The solar project is funded by a grant awarded to Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District in 2010 by the Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction, or "TIGGER Program," which is managed by the Federal Transit Administration's Office of Research, Demonstration and Innovation.
For more information, visit RGS Energy online.