Bay Area Rapid Transit
At a Glance
Industry
Government/Public Administration
Project Type
Clean and Renewable Energy
Year
2016
Location
Oakland, CA
Summary
Mousumi Guha analyzed energy use and energy supply data as well as electric tariffs, focusing on distributed energy technologies, to help BART develop its long-term sustainability action plan.
Goals:
The Sustainability team at the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), which serves four counties in the Bay Area, is focused on establishing a strategic plan to reduce its carbon footprint, raising awareness among its stakeholders and drafting a long-term sustainability action plan. EDF Climate Corps fellow Mousumi Guha was brought onboard to support a subset of these efforts by assessing the feasibility of distributed solar, as well as the regulatory and administrative challenges of incorporating distributed energy technologies into its energy portfolio and its physical electrical system.
Solutions:
Mousumi analyzed energy consumption data across stations to understand energy use in a typical month. She then looked at the energy produced by a station’s pilot solar installation to help BART develop a renewable energy procurement plan that will prioritize distributed energy technologies. This required detailed analysis of the issues behind connecting a generation facility to the grid and the custom arrangement BART has with the local utility, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), under which it is billed in a non-standard fashion for transmission and distribution services.
Using energy consumption data and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s PVWatts calculator, Mousumi evaluated possible project sites for rooftop solar. She then analyzed the highest annual electricity consumption hours in order to help BART understand the major factors affecting project value. She also investigated funding opportunities for solar financing, energy storage and energy efficiency.
Potential Impact:
Mousumi’s analysis of interconnection rules, meter data for load locations, as well as both the Open Access Transmission Tariff and state distribution agreement under which BART takes electrical delivery services from PG&E, will help BART continue to develop its long-term sustainability action plan.