BART, PG&E announce partnership to save millions in energy costs

BART passengers who use the 16th St./Mission and 24th St./Mission stations in San Francisco will enjoy a brighter, more comfortable environment this winter thanks to a partnership announced today between the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).

The BART Board of Directors recently approved an energy-efficiency makeover to upgrade approximately 2,000 old lighting fixtures, replace lighting controls and install emergency lighting features. This is the first step in a major partnership between BART and PG&E to implement numerous energy-efficiency measures across the transit system that will lower BART’s carbon footprint and save millions in energy costs for riders and taxpayers each year.
 
"The new lighting fixtures will be between 30 and 77 percent more efficient than the outdated fluorescent tube fixtures we use at these stations and can save BART 1.6 million kilowatt-hours annually," BART’s longest-serving Board Member James Fang said. "This energy-efficiency investment will save BART $167,000 per year, once again underscoring the cost-effectiveness of being green."
 
"These lighting upgrades not only make environmental sense, they will create a more welcoming, safer atmosphere at these two stations and, perhaps best of  all, this million dollar makeover will ultimately pay for itself," BART Director Lynette Sweet said. "Thanks to PG&E and the ABAG Energy Watch partnership, the project will get an enhanced utility rebate of $313,000.  These new lighting fixtures are so efficient that we expect to save our riders and taxpayers more than $2.1 million in electricity costs over the expected life of the lighting fixtures."

As the first step in this partnership, BART’s Board recently approved an energy-efficiency makeover to upgrade approximately 2,000 old lighting fixtures, replace lighting controls and install emergency lighting features at the 16th and 24th Street stations in San Francisco. The lighting retrofits were announced today as part of a broader partnership with PG&E, the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and BART to green the transit system.The ongoing efforts of this partnership will evaluate other opportunities to reduce energy usage, including solar installations at various facilities, new clean fleet vehicles and increased train efficiency through the use of regenerative braking.

"At PG&E, we remain committed to helping our customers fight climate change. That is why we are pleased to partner with BART to help lower their energy costs and reduce their carbon footprint," said Brad Whitcomb, vice president of marketing and customer innovation for PG&E.  "BART has shown tremendous environmental leadership today and we look forward to working with them on future energy efficiency projects that will position them to become one of the greenest transit systems in the nation."

The first project in this partnership will create substantial energy savings for BART’s passengers.  The energy saved from the retrofits will avoid 1.75 million pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) from being emitted.  This is the equivalent of taking 122 cars off the road every year.