Pennsylvania rail yard solar project gets boost
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefPennsylvania has allotted $1 million for a solar-power field on part of a Superfund site at the Paoli, Pa., rail yard, as part of a plan for a new transportation facility, state officials said Monday. The solar facility will cover three acres. Construction is to begin in the fall and be complete by the end of the year.
The energy generated by the panels will feed into a substation in the yard that provides electricity for SEPTA and Amtrak on Amtrak’s Philadelphia-to-Harrisburg line. The panels are expected to contribute 2% of the energy used daily by Amtrak and SEPTA.
The project is part of a larger $50 million plan to build a new Paoli train station and parking garage several blocks west of the current facility. The substation would also be replaced. The rail yard also has benefitted from $20 million in environmental remediation.
