As the energy crunch goes severer than it was ever before, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is relying on the electricity generated by regenerative braking at its subways. The Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority has conferred a $900,000 grant to the transportation authority and smart-grid company Viridity Energy to run the $1.5 million project. Any surplus energy will be sold to the wholesale energy market.
The system, which is proposed along a stretch of the Market-Frankford line, will utilize a huge battery to capture kinetic energy generated by regenerative braking. The system is expected to generate 1.5 megawatts of energy for trains to help them speed up, stored for future use or returned to the grid. Another suggested use involves storing energy, which is collected during night,in batteries for use during the day. When the system comes online next spring, it will help the transit agency to save $500,000 in energy costs.
