Western Systems partnered with the City of Santa Clarita to keep an intersection running during outages with Fuel Cell Technology
Santa Clarita, CA — Western Systems, a leader in the traffic industry, recently partnered with the city of Santa Clarita, California, to install an innovative fuell cell backup power system at a critical intersection.
“Western Systems is proud to work with the city of Santa Clarita on this innovative traffic solution. This new system is a game-changer and puts the city on the cutting edge of intersection backup power. With the new unit in place, the city will keep traffic moving safely and efficiently during an outage for an extended period of time.”
– Zach Hoiting, Sales Manager, Western Systems
The Fuel Cell System was installed along a very busy and important intersection in Santa Clarita, the 3rd largest city in Los Angeles County. The intersection sees over 80,000 vehicles per day and is along a fire evacuation route.
Rolling brownouts, wildfires and high winds have all caused the intersection to lose power, creating traffic and safety issues for the community. Without a long-term backup power solution in place, the city had to deploy staff to install generators, stop signs and have Parking Enforcement Officers help direct traffic, which was costly and inefficient.
“Keeping the intersection running safely and efficiently is a top priority for the City. With power outages becoming longer and more frequent, we needed a power source that could accommodate long-term power interruptions. The hydrogen fuel cell system, is an eco-friendly backup power unit that can keep the intersection running for days on backup power.”
– Cesar Romo, Traffic Signal System Administrator, City of Santa Clarita
Fuel Cell Technology is built to the highest standards and delivers unique advantages to the traffic industry:
- Long-Lasting Backup Power – Intersections can run for days.
- Easy Maintenance -The annual preventive maintenance checklist only includes an air filter replacement.
- Environment Friendly -Fuel cells are certified by the California Air Resources Board as zero-emission power generators.
- Quiet Operation – With no moving parts, there’s no hum or noise from the fuel cell cabinet.
Western Systems and the City of Santa Clarita worked together to engineer and install the new unit. After the success of this installation, the city is currently seeking additional grant funding to add more units at other intersections.