The new solar canopies installed at the VTA’s headquarters are part of agency’s “green” expansion.
by Diane Alter
ON MAY 17, The Vineyard Transportation Authority held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to debut a string of solar canopies installed at its Airport Business Park facility.
For the VTA, the solar canopies provide VTA maintenance personnel the capacity to charge 40 buses, seven vans, and six cars. Solar canopies are elevated structures that host solar panels.
These overhead solar panel installations are typically installed in commercial parking lots. They significantly improve a parking area’s overall lighting because the lighting is closer to the ground, with a reflective material located above the parking lot’s finished surface.
The VTA solar canopies follow a four-year “green” expansion that includes a dozen electric buses in service, with four more coming to island roads in June. The VTA electric buses have had a dramatic impact on reducing emissions on the island. The buses have also saved the VTA thousands of dollars in operational, maintenance, and fuel costs.
The electric fleet has slashed the VTA’s gas emission by over three mission pounds and has the agency over 24,000 in energy costs. Further, the electric buses have the added benefit of providing emergency power during natural disasters.
VTA administrator Angie Gompert told This Week on MV that the electric fleet has had an immeasurable and positive impact in terms of reducing noise, increasing passenger comfort, and reliability. With the canopy installations, the whole VTA solar project is coming together, Gompert explained.
“There is better storage for the solar generators,” Gompert said. This is an amelioration of the VTA’s analytical, thoughtful, and well-planned approach to sustainability. That is what I am most proud of.”
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