In San Francisco, taking public Transportation is Going Greener than Ever

People are decreasing their carbon footprint by opting public transportation in San Francisco. To make it more effective, the system is reducing its own carbon footprint.

The BART system of California has adopted “aggressive guidelines” to purchase new power from renewable energy sources. This is only because of the new Wholesale Electricity Portfolio Policy that the system is going to get even greener than ever.

Nick Josefowitz, BART Director said, “Every day, BART takes cars off the road and helps drive down our greenhouse gas emissions. But especially now, BART and the Bay Area must shoulder even more responsibility to combat climate change. Even though BART is not required to comply with the state’s renewable energy standards, we have committed to purchasing 100 percent renewable electricity and taking a leadership role in decarbonizing our transportation sector.”

BART has boasted a clean portfolio in terms of its power sources. But as discussed, it is going to purchase new power from several renewable sources like wind, solar, and other going to make it greener (environmental friendly). By 2025, the target of BART is to drive power from minimum 50% available energy sources and minimum 90% from zero or low carbon sources. And so on, it will meet the target of 100% in both phases.

According to Holly Gordon (Sustainability Manager of BART), “Given that renewable energy supply costs have fallen significantly in recent years and have approached cost parity with other supply sources, BART has an opportunity to set clean energy goals that are both ambitious and realistic.”

Overall, BART is the first electrified public transit system in the world who took the pledge to meet 100% renewable power in their transportation system. Hopefully, other transport systems across the country or the world will follow the same.

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