PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A new field of solar panels in south-central Pennsylvania has begun cranking out renewable electricity that is helping to power SEPTA’s subways, trolleys and regional rail cars.
The 80-acre Elk Hill Solar 2 project in Franklin County was developed by Lightsource bp under a 20-year power purchase agreement with SEPTA. The solar farm started generating power on Feb. 1, SEPTA chief innovation officer Erik Johanson said.
The agreement is projected to save SEPTA $400,000 over the next two decades by allowing the transit agency to purchase renewable energy at a fixed price. Johanson said this first phase covers about 8% of SEPTA’s energy needs.
“We want to do it in a manner that allows us to take advantage of what we believe will be continually declining renewable energy prices,” Johanson told KYW Newsradio. “So we don’t want to go out and buy 100% of our energy all at once because that won’t allow us to take advantage of potentially cheaper prices in the future.”
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By reducing their electricity bill, he said, “the easier a chance” SEPTA has in keeping fares low.
A second solar farm in the deal is expected to provide another 8% of SEPTA’s energy by next year.
Johanson said it’s a step toward SEPTA’s goal of getting 80% of its power from renewable sources by the year 2050.
“We kind of think that this notion of going out for proposals that cover the next 10 to 20% and then the next 10 to 20% of our electricity supply will ultimately get us to where we want to be for that ‘80 by 50’ goal,” he said.