Can Public Transit Run on Solar Power?

California's Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) has recently been exploring ways to power its system using renewable energy sources, but is it really possible to power one of the state's "top 10 power consumers" with alternative energy?

1 minute read

April 11, 2017, 9:00 AM PDT

By ArupAmericas


BART Train

Sheila Fitzgerald / Shutterstock

Moving more than 430,000 passengers across 107 miles of track each weekday requires a massive amount of energy, making BART one of Northern California’s top 10 power consumers. The agency has been investigating ways to obtain more of this energy from renewable sources. As part of this effort, it asked Arup to consider the potential impact of placing photovoltaic (PV) arrays on its substantial real estate holdings.

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