New York MTA Energy-Saving Project Gets Federal Boost

13 October 2009 (Last Updated October 13th, 2009 18:30)

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority has received $2m in recovery funds to install nearly 350 wireless control points linked to rail heaters, to save energy. The project, worth a total of $8.32m, will allow the third rail heaters to be centrally controlled and turned on and

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority has received $2m in recovery funds to install nearly 350 wireless control points linked to rail heaters, to save energy.

The project, worth a total of $8.32m, will allow the third rail heaters to be centrally controlled and turned on and off according to weather conditions, minimising electricity use and eliminating wasted energy.

The system is expected to save nearly 23,000 megawatt hours of energy annually, which is wasted by leaving the heaters on throughout the autumn, winter and early spring irrespective of weather conditions.

The system, which will be installed by January 2012, is expected to save $1.6m in costs annually.

The grant comes from the recently announced $100m for 'green' projects nationwide under the Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) programme.