A stride in decarbonization in Pennsylvania was made recently with the commercial operation of a 17.5 megawatt solar farm in Franklin County, Pa. The project, Elk Hill Solar 2, developed under a power purchase agreement between the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and Lightsource bp, is helping advance energy and sustainability priorities for both SEPTA and the Commonwealth. The solar farm was developed, and is owned and operated by Lightsource bp.

The project is one of two solar farms that SEPTA and Lightsource bp announced on Earth Day in 2020. Elk Hill 2 will generate an estimated 27,377 MWh of clean and affordable solar energy, or nearly 10 percent of SEPTA’s 380,000 MWh per year electricity demand-the equivalent of providing energy to more than 2,500 U.S. homes annually.

Generation from a solar farm of this size and type would be expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 19,360 metric tons of CO2 annually, equivalent to offsetting the emissions of 4,180 fuel burning cars each year. It also supports Pennsylvania’s goals to generate a percentage of clean electricity by solar photovoltaics, helping to diversify the state’s energy portfolio and increase security with locally generated power.

-via Press Release