The clever way strapped transit agencies are saving cash

Lot 9 at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport is an ocean of asphalt, typically occupied by thousands of parked cars. Soon it will be covered with 16 acres worth of solar panels, generating enough electricity to power the AirTrain that links the nearby subway station to the airport’s terminals, while also meeting the electricity needs of hundreds of homes in the surrounding neighborhood.

“Public agencies are often on the bleeding edge of a lot of this innovation that’s happening around solar and storage,” says Eric Potts, senior vice president at SunPower. He says school districts in California have been leading the way in adding solar panel-covered canopies over parking lots to offset energy requirements and save money. “They are trading off operating expenses to pay energy bills, with energy savings from solar to put more money into books or education or teachers or facilities. So it’s very much an economic decision as well as a green decision.”For transit agencies, the economic side is especially important as the pandemic has led to significant cuts in ridership, passengers, and revenue at transit agencies and airports. “What we’re able to give these transportation entities is another source of revenue or a source of energy savings,” says Potts.