Using a $900,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority, SEPTA has announced that it will make the Philadelphia subway system hybrid.
The project, designed by Viridity Energy, Inc. of Conshohocken, will use kinetic energy from braking trains to generate electricity (much the same way as a hybrid car). This electricity will be stored in railside batteries and reused. SEPTA expects the hybrid system to reduce power consumption by 10-20 percent per battery station which translates to $500,000 in savings per year.
The system may also create a surplus of power that SEPTA could use to further reduce its power reuse or to resell.
Learn more at Septa Blog.
