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Yesterday, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) launched a project to give its Richmond maintenance shop a green makeover.

Crews began installing 912 photovoltaic solar energy panels on the shop's roof — enough to generate the power to lift a 25-ton BART car. The agency expects the system to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 4.4 million pounds over 20 years.

BART also will replace the shops outdated lamps with high-efficiency fluorescent lighting, which is expected to reduce energy use by one third and save $107,000 in energy costs annually.

The Richmond maintenance shop project is the first of three sustainable energy projects BART expects to complete in the near future. The agency also plans to install a solar energy system on the roof of the Hayward maintenance shop and a solar panel canopy in the Orinda Station's parking lot. The three projects will help BART cut its energy costs by about $3.4 million during the next 20 years.