DART First State announced a “Clean Energy and Energy Savings Initiative” continues to move forward with our recent award of a $2.5 million Federal Transit Administration grant for Buses and Bus Facilities Program to install solar array at its Dover Operations and Administration facility.
This project involves the installation of a canopy system with a solar panel array for the bus facility. The site which has 102 bus parking spaces, serves as the primary bus storage location in central Delaware.
The solar canopy has been used at the Delaware Technical Community College George Campus in Wilmington. The canopies are popular in Sun Belt states. In those areas, vehicles are protected from extreme heat and do not face challenges from ice and snow and the square footage from the canopies can generate electricity.
A solar panel array, covering approximately 60,000 square feet, will be installed on top of a canopy structure. The solar power will generate electricity for the facility and its six fully electric buses.
The canopy offers year-round protection from extreme weather conditions, improving the reliability of our fleet.
“From our growing fleet of fully electric fixed-route buses to converting our paratransit buses to propane, our public transportation system is evolving to become more environmentally friendly and efficient,” said Secretary of Transportation Jennifer Cohan. “Modifying existing infrastructure with this grant to increase our clean energy capabilities is another win for all of us.”
The Delaware Transit Corporation, a subsidiary of the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), operates DART First State. For more information, please visit www.DartFirstState.com.
