SEPTA Adds Solar Power, New System Along West Trenton Line

SEPTA is looking to become a bit more green.

The regional transit agency that serves the Philadelphia area has agreed to purchase power from solar farms and also use solar power for rail signal systems.

SEPTA said they plan to spend $16.2 million to outfit the Doylestown, Warminster, and West Trenton lines with solar technology to reinforce power for rail signal systems. The West Trenton Line runs from New Jersey and stops at the Woodbourne and Langhorne stations in Middletown.

The solar technology will power the signal systems along the lines and allow them to still work during severe weather events. The implantation of solar technology will eliminate the need for conduit and external wiring while letting SEPTA’s system to run for as long as two days if the normal power source is lost.

SEPTA officials said the system was previously tested along the Chestnut Hill West Line with positive results.

Funding for the $16.2 million project partly comes from a grant from the Federal Transit Administration under the 2013 Disaster Relief Appropriations Act.

SEPTA has signed a 20-year agreement with Lightsource BP to purchase energy from two larger, under construction solar farms located in Franklin County. The transit agency will use all the 35 megawatts the solar farm generates, and it will provide 19 percent of SEPTA’s 380,000 megawatt hours per year of electricity demand.

The agreement will help SEPTA reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 55,750 metric tons of CO2 annually, which is the equivalent of burning over six million less gallons of gasoline each year and providing energy to more than 7,100 homes annually, SEPTA officials said.

At its headquarters on Market Street, SEPTA plans to spend about $13 million with Constellation New Energy to provide energy conservation measures. Over the next 18 years, the project is expected to save about $18 million in savings.

“SEPTA has been a transit industry leader in sustainability by focusing on projects that both make financial sense and lay the foundation for a green future,” said SEPTA Board Chairman Pasquale T. “Pat” Deon Sr. “These efforts approved today represent a major step forward, with an approach that will help control costs while delivering significant environmental benefits in the communities we serve.”

SEPTA General Manager Jeffrey Knueppel explained the efforts improve “sustainability, resiliency and reliability” along the system, which includes trolleys, buses, trains, subway, and regional rail.