BART paying more in bet on solar power

BART plans to power two maintenance facilities and a passenger station in the East Bay with solar energy - at almost double the cost of electricity purchased today off the grid.

But BART officials said the higher cost is worth the investment to help combat global warming.

And in the long run, they say, the bigger bill for solar may prove fiscally prudent if - as expected - the price of hydroelectric and fossil fuel-derived power continues to escalate.

BART now pays an average of $95 per megawatt hour to run its trains, maintenance yards and stations, said Frank Schultz, who manages the transit agency's energy division.

Without offering a specific dollar amount, Schultz said the price of solar power will be nearly double that amount.

AC Transit, which last year installed a solar-energy system on two of its maintenance yards in Hayward and Oakland, spends about $140 per megawatt hour for solar power, about the same as for conventional power, said Clarence Johnson, spokesman for the bus operator.

Each transit agency negotiates its own electricity rates with suppliers, which accounts for the fluctuation in prices.

As energy prices go up and awareness over the environmental damage caused by fossil fuels rises, transit systems throughout the Bay Area are undertaking conservation measures and seeking alternative power supplies.

San Francisco's Municipal Railway and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority are investigating using solar to help power their maintenance shops. Santa Clara VTA and Golden Gate Transit already use solar to help light up some of their street shelters, and Muni officials hope to do the same.
Diverse energy portfolio

BART's solar initiative, which received unanimous approval from its board of directors on Thursday, takes the regional rail agency closer toward its goal of diversifying its energy portfolio. In January, the directors voted to lift the price cap on renewable energy purchases.

Schultz said BART is eager to generate more power and rely less on outside energy suppliers, such as Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and other private contractors that are out to make money - business operators he likened to pirates.

"We want more control over our energy supply," Schultz said.

The projects approved Thursday - solar photovoltaic panel installations at a pair of maintenance yards in Hayward and Richmond and on a carport structure at the Orinda Station - together would cost about $4 million and generate about half a megawatt of the 45 megawatts BART burns up in an hour.

More than half of BART's power is generated hydroelectrically, and while it technically is renewable, it does not fall into the same category as solar, wind and thermal power.
Public relations a bonus

BART Director Bob Franklin, who chairs the board's sustainability committee, said the solar project also serves another purpose: public relations.

"It highlights to our passengers and to the public the sustainable nature of our public transportation industry," Franklin said.

Under the plan, BART would not own the solar panel installations outright. Instead, it would enter into an agreement with SunEdison LLC to design, construct, own and maintain the facilities - an arrangement that allows the project to qualify for federal tax incentives.

BART, in turn, would buy the solar-derived electricity from SunEdison. Details must still be negotiated but the agreement is envisioned to last up to 25 years.

As part of the deal, SunEdison would make conservation improvements, such as installing energy-saving lighting, at the three facilities, expected to save more than $300,000 a year.

Franklin said he hopes that a marketing pact can be brokered with SunEdison that would benefit BART financially. He and Schultz also justified paying more initially for the solar power based on projections that the cost of conventional energy will keep creeping up. BART officials used that assessment, coupled with the planned energy conservation measures, to estimate that the arrangement approved Thursday would save BART at least $3.4 million over the life of the contract.

E-mail Rachel Gordon at rgordon@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle