Electrifiy Caltrain on Solar PV

I live a block from the Caltrain line in overcast Belmont. From solar PV I average 3.2 MW per year from 20 panels which equal 250 sq feet and generate 15% surplus power per year. However I face southeast. Similar sized south facing and southwest facing installations generate 4-5MW per year. 4MW is what one electric Caltrain needs per day. That would translate to square footage of panels equal to 250x365 sq ft= 92,250 or round it up to 100,000 sq feet which an area 100'by 1,000' ft. Most station areas are a mile in length which would be five this amount or 20MW per day. If the station area solarized was 200 feet wide then only ten stations would need to be solarized for the entire train at 40MW per day from 40,000 panels.

From the EIR/EIS the accurate power requirements to operate a 100 train per day Caltrain system is approx. 300 MWh PER DAY. A full build out scenario of more trains per day would require 400 MWh per day. That would imply 20 stations areas covered in solar panels. Or some equivalent length of track could be solarized. Given the sunny location of most trains this facilities are more likely to produce about 40% more power. This can be used to provide hybrid and golf cart charging stations at the park and ride and to power homes such as the San Carlos Transit Village with 370 rental units.

Sierra Nevada Beer put in a nice shaded solar parking lot.
http://www.gizmag.com/solar-powered-beer-sierra-nevada/8671/

Caltrain electrification and solar TODs

Electrified Caltrain would reduce diesel pollution, significantly reduce noise, and allow for TOD that spanned the track. If the transit authority kept the roof they could add panels to pay for the electrified trains.

According to my meter I have averaged 3.2 MW per year from 20 panels which equal 250 sq feet and generate 15% surplus power per year.

So 400 house roofs feeding into the grid would power the 4MW requirement of an electrified train. Working off the 15% surplus 2500 houses would suffice. Which could be translated into roof top space of 625,000 sq ft or about a 104,000 sq feet for six TODs, like the San Carlos Transit Village, each village generating power for 400+ homes from 8400 panels per village. Solar panel covered parking lot can make up for structural deficiencies in the roof area. Sierra Nevada Beer put in a nice shaded solar parking lot.
http://www.gizmag.com/solar-powered-beer-sierra-nevada/8671/

4MW is 1% of the required power at full build out. From the EIR/EIS the accurate power requirements to operate a 100 train per day Caltrain system is approx. 300 MWh PER DAY. A full build out scenario of more trains per day would require 400 MWh per day.

Would 1% from renewable sources from 6 TOD roofs, a little higher before buildout, while providing essentially free power to 2500 households, be worth the investment?

I use BP panels which are inefficient, but sufficient for me, and they are local (Sacramento.) Sanyo, Siemens, Mitsubushi and Honda make much higher efficiency panels which would reduce the roof top area requirement considerably. I also use a south east orientation and have a large oak which shades the house from the western sun, all desirable characteristics in the summer. However a TOD has none of these restrictions. Orienting the TOD to the south, and shading windows from the summer sun, can result in a 20% decrease in the number of panels.