Project: MBTA Wind Energy Generation Turbines

City: Kingston and Bridgewater

State: Massachusetts

ARRA Award Amount: $2.5 Million

Program: TIGGER (Wind Energy)

Description:

FTA has approved $2.5 million in competitively selected TIGGER funds to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) for installation of two renewable wind energy generation turbines to be located at the Kingston Layover Facility at the terminus of the Kingston/Plymouth Commuter Rail branch and the Bridgewater Station on the Middleborough/Lakeville Commuter Rail branch. The proposed wind energy equipment includes a 100 kW turbine located at the Kingston Layover and a 600 kW turbine located at the Bridgewater Station.

The MBTA is the largest single electricity consumer in Massachusetts, consuming nine percent of all electricity consumed in the state. With the installation of renewable wind energy turbines such as the ones proposed in Kingston and Bridgewater in southeastern Massachusetts, the MBTA will be able to generate power to operate its own facilities or return power back to the regional grid, thereby providing clean energy to the region. Both facilities currently consume energy to support the plugging-in of trains for storage, maintenance and passenger waiting facilities. The annual electricity use at both facilities is 2,815,738 kWh. Not only will this investment allow the MBTA to save 75 percent of energy consumption at these locations, but also, in virtue of the high visibility placement of the wind turbines at major transportation nodes, serve as a model for use of green technologies region wide.