Sun-Ways
The Swiss company Sun-Ways has launched the world’s first mobile solar power plant with a capacity of 18 kW on a railway.
It is expected that photovoltaic installation will generate 16 MWh of electricity per year, supplying it to the local grid located 500 meters away. Passenger trains are expected to start running on this railway line on Monday, April 28.
Last October, the Swiss Federal Office of Transport approved the use of mobile photovoltaic installation on the railroad. After that, the solar power plant underwent a series of tests and analyzes and received all the necessary permits.
Sun-Ways will continue to conduct tests over the next three years, focusing on solar panel coverage, pollution from trains, and the impact of the solar power plant on rail infrastructure. This will help to verify the long-term safety of operating trains with solar panels installed on the rails.
The conclusions of the international group of experts show that, despite skeptical assessments, such projects are not only feasible, but also have significant commercial potential. According to critics, heavy pollution from trains and intense mechanical stress can significantly reduce electricity production and shorten the overall life of such a solar power plant.
According to Sun-Ways, the system has serious potential and growing support for installing solar panels on railroad tracks. In the long term, the founder and director of Sun-Ways Joseph Scuderi proposes to generate electricity between the rails and supply it directly as a traction current for trains, making them completely self-sufficient.
The company uses a special paver train manufactured by Scheuchzer, capable of installing about 1 thousand meters² solar panels in just a few hours. The project in Buttes, in the Val de Traverse, involves 100 linear meters of the TransN rail line, on which 48 solar panels will be installed. The electrical connections are integrated into the panels, and a cylindrical brush cleaning system at the end of the train keeps the panels clean.
Joseph Scuderi hopes that positive experience the use of solar panels on railroad tracks will be widely used around the world in the future. If we limit ourselves to Switzerland, there are 5,000 kilometers of railroad tracks, which potentially allows us to install about 2.5 million panels. In the coming years, the company also aims to start working in Germany, Austria, Italy, the United States, and Asian countries.
Source: Interesting Ingineering