Construction has commenced at Pennsylvania Turnpike’s (PA Turnpike) Western Regional Office (WRO) for a solar microgrid.
The microgrid will provide power to the PA Turnpike’s 27,000-square-foot-office and the PSP Troop T New Stanton barracks.
The solar panels have already been installed, and the project is set to come online in early 2026.
The microgrid is the second of its kind for the PA Turnpike. The Greensburg District Maintenance Shed is also powered by a massive solar array and saves the PA Turnpike more than $400,000 each year by selling energy back to the grid.
The PA Turnpike, the only agency in the Commonwealth to receive a perfect score from the PA GreenGov Council, set a goal to become America’s First Sustainable Superhighway by 2040. It has undertaken multiple initiatives to achieve its goal.
Its sustainability efforts include installing a planned stationary Inductive Charging Showcase at its Central Administration Building, laying a 550-mile fiber optic broadband network, installing EV chargers at eight of its service plazas, and planting six pollinator habitats along the Pennsylvania Turnpike System.
“The PA Turnpike has been an innovator for 85 years, finding new ways to adopt technologies that enhance customer safety, sustainability and reliability,” said PA Turnpike CEO Mark Compton, in a statement. “Our commitment to sustainability and finding ways to support responsible stewardship continues to guide every decision we make as we advance the PA Turnpike into the future.”
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