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A state grant will help the Bay Area Transportation Authority install almost 660 solar panels on the roof of its new headquarters in Traverse City.
The $795,673 grant is part of a state program to fund projects that meet goals set out in Michigan’s climate plan, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A law state legislators passed last year required the public service commission to develop the program.
The state awarded BATA and 18 other recipients a total of $20.8 million to fund renewable energy and electrification projects across the state, according to the Michigan Public Service Commission. (Alpena Community College received the largest grant — $4.6 million — for its plan to install a solar array.)
The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community also received a grant of $726,870 for solar and battery storage projects.
Eric Lingaur, BATA’s director of communications and development, said the panels will take advantage of the ample roof space atop the 80,000-square-foot building.
“It's a place where we park all of our vehicles for climate-controlled storage, and so we have them all in one location,” he said. “So it's got a lot of rooftop space.”
Lingaur estimates that using solar panels will cut the authority’s power bill by $63,000 a year.
BATA had planned to install rooftop solar on the headquarters eventually, he said, and this funding allowed it to expedite the process.
The authority, which serves Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties, provides nearly 400,000 rides a year, according to Lingaur. While most of its vehicles run on propane, gas or diesel, this year it added four electric vans, and another two are in the works.
“Now we'll be able to have solar panels on the top of our facility that will be bringing in energy that will help power our electric vehicles,” Lingaur said. “So it's just kind of come full circle with that capability being there.”
BATA completed its new headquarters, near the intersection of LaFranier and Hammond roads in Traverse City, as part of a larger project that includes working with Habitat for Humanity to build more than 200 housing units and 15 single-family homes nearby.
