Valley Metro’s Rail Operations and Maintenance Center is being powered with energy from the sun, as of today.
The Valley transportation agency picked Earth Day to begin using solar energy. Its new plant has 2,800 solar voltaic panels, spanning 1.15 acres.
CEO Steve Banta said solar energy is a principal addition to Valley Metro’s existing sustainable programs, including its large fleet of buses and trains that are already using alternative fuels.
The agency received a federal grant to help fund construction and installation of the solar photovoltaic system. It also got help from APS, through its Schools and Government Incentive program.
Valley Metro is using both ground-level and parking lot shade canopies to produce 1.3 million killowatt-hours of energy per year. That’s enough to power 123 homes.