Greening Mass Transit & Metro Regions: The Final Report - MTA

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NEAR-TERM RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendation 1. Increase the Number of LEED Accredited Employees
The MTA should aggressively increase the number of LEED-accredited employees, and require 90 percent of new hires
to be LEED Accredited Professionals (AP) for facilities design positions. The MTA should provide support for employees
preparing for the LEED examination and provide appropriate green training for current employees.
Recommendation 2. Seek LEED-EB Rating for Grand Central Terminal
The MTA should pursue LEED-EB certification for Grand Central Terminal. The greening of MTA’s highest-profile facility
would provide useful lessons for other agency facility projects and serve an important role in educating the public about
green buildings and MTA’s sustainability efforts.
Recommendation 3. Accelerate the Use of Green Roofs and High-Performance Roofs
Given the extensive square footage of its building portfolio, the MTA should assess the feasibility of green roofs, white
roofs, rooftop renewable energy generation, and other high-performance roof designs across all of its existing facilities.
Recommendation 4. Form an All-Agencies Green Team
The Commission recommends that the MTA create an All-Agencies Green Team to oversee the final development
and implementation of the MTA Green Building Guidelines. The Green Team will also coordinate the development and
promotion of the MTA’s other sustainability initiatives.
ACHIEVEMENTS TO DATE
Since launching its five-year capital plans in 1980, the MTA has steadily upgraded the energy performance of its new and
existing buildings. The ongoing energy retrofits described in the Energy/Carbon chapter will result in MTA energy savings
of greater than 78,000 megawatt hours (approximately $9.4 million) per year by 2010. Many facility rehabilitation plans
now include high-performance roofs, energy management systems, and other green features. Among the MTA facilities
that have pioneered innovative green designs are the following:
• The NYCT Corona Yard Maintenance Shop, North America’s first LEED-certified transit facility, featuring natural ventilation
and lighting, recycled train wash water, a rainwater capture system, photovoltaic cells, a fuel cell, and heat recovery units.
•The Coney Island-Stilwell Avenue Terminal, featuring interior day lighting and a majestic station canopy integrating the
largest building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) installation in any transit station, generating 250 kW of clean power.
• The Roosevelt Avenue-74th Street Station, Queens, produces 65 kW of power using two PV systems: a conventional
system is on the roof; the second system, comprised of thin-film solar panels, is mounted to the metal standing seam
canopy on the elevated subway platform.
• The Gun Hill Bus Depot, the first NYCT depot to use solar panels, draws 40 percent of the facility’s power from photovoltaic
cells, making it one of the largest PV facilities on the East Coast.
• For more facts on MTA’s recent state-of-the-art facilities, visit www.mta.info.
Right: The fuel cell at the Corona Car Maintenance Facility converts
hydrogen and oxygen into electricity and heat to save energy.