November 6, 2013

Officials from the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA), Federal Transit Administration, and the Congressional Delegation will join Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially celebrate the installation of a 300 kilowatt solar roof panel at RIPTA’s Transportation Building.

The ribbon cutting celebration will take place outside the main entrance of RIPTA’s Transportation Building located at 269 Melrose Street in Providence on Friday, November 8, 2013 at 11:00am. A sample of the solar panel will be on display at the location, with light refreshments for all guests following the ceremony.

Funding for the nearly two-acre rooftop solar project came from a $1.2 million FTA Transit Investment in Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) grant, which requires a 20% state match. The 20 percent state match was funded through a $240,000 grant from a settlement between the state and the American Electric Power Corporation (AEP). The remainder of the $1.9M project was funded by a combination of RIPTA and other federal grants, including $340,000 in ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) funds for facility repairs.

An installation of this size will produce around 350,417kWh per year, an electrical power value of $56,066, which offsets 6,180 tons of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere over 25 years.

Who: Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline, Governor Lincoln Chafee, Attorney General Peter Kilmartin, the Federal Transit Administration, RIPTA Board Chairman and Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian, and transit and community leaders

When: 11:00 a.m.
Friday, November 8, 2013

Where: RIPTA
269 Melrose Street, Providence

For a more information, please call 401-781-9400 or visit ripta.com.