| Solar panels between the rails in Switzerland Posted by Surrey 455 at 01:29, 19th March 2023 |     |
From Euronews
Solar panels are being rolled out “like carpet” on railway tracks in Switzerland.
Swiss start-up Sun-Ways is installing panels near Buttes train station in the west of the country in May, pending sign-off from the Federal Office of Transport.
As the climate crisis demands that we speed up Europe’s energy transition, developers have been seeing new potential in unusual surfaces.
Roadsides, reservoirs and farms are all finding space for solar systems. And Germany’s Deutsche Bahn is also experimenting with adding solar cells to railway sleepers.
Continues....
Swiss start-up Sun-Ways is installing panels near Buttes train station in the west of the country in May, pending sign-off from the Federal Office of Transport.
As the climate crisis demands that we speed up Europe’s energy transition, developers have been seeing new potential in unusual surfaces.
Roadsides, reservoirs and farms are all finding space for solar systems. And Germany’s Deutsche Bahn is also experimenting with adding solar cells to railway sleepers.
Continues....
| Re: Solar panels between the rails in Switzerland Posted by Electric train at 07:15, 19th March 2023 | |
From Euronews
Solar panels are being rolled out “like carpet” on railway tracks in Switzerland.
Swiss start-up Sun-Ways is installing panels near Buttes train station in the west of the country in May, pending sign-off from the Federal Office of Transport.
As the climate crisis demands that we speed up Europe’s energy transition, developers have been seeing new potential in unusual surfaces.
Roadsides, reservoirs and farms are all finding space for solar systems. And Germany’s Deutsche Bahn is also experimenting with adding solar cells to railway sleepers.
Continues....
Swiss start-up Sun-Ways is installing panels near Buttes train station in the west of the country in May, pending sign-off from the Federal Office of Transport.
As the climate crisis demands that we speed up Europe’s energy transition, developers have been seeing new potential in unusual surfaces.
Roadsides, reservoirs and farms are all finding space for solar systems. And Germany’s Deutsche Bahn is also experimenting with adding solar cells to railway sleepers.
Continues....
I doubt Track Maintainenance Engineers will be overly keen on the idea, would make tamping the track a pain
| Re: Solar panels between the rails in Switzerland Posted by broadgage at 07:31, 19th March 2023 | |
I am in general in favour of renewable energy, including solar.
Installation between the rails seem a very odd choice, impedes track maintenance, and liable to shading by vegetation, snow or dead leaves.
I would have thought that roofs of station buildings might be a better choice.
| Re: Solar panels between the rails in Switzerland Posted by stuving at 12:30, 19th March 2023 | |
I doubt Track Maintainenance Engineers will be overly keen on the idea, would make tamping the track a pain
There's a video here about it, which says these are "removable solar panels". So the same special train that rolls them out and clips them in place can also roll them up again to allow maintenance work.
Maybe in Switzerland the obvious corollary, that it's also easy for them to be stolen, is not sen as an issue!
| Re: Solar panels between the rails in Switzerland Posted by johnneyw at 23:02, 26th April 2025 | |
Rail Avent carries an article about an experiment in Switzerland placing solar panels down the middle of railway lines. It's hoped that success would generate enough power for 300,000 households or 30% of the power needed for public transport.
Article link below.
https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2025/04/switch-on-for-worlds-first-on-track-solar-power.html
| Re: Solar panels between the rails in Switzerland Posted by GBM at 09:04, 27th April 2025 | |
Ah!
Covered here in 2023
Solar panels between the rails in Switzerland
https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=30199.0
| Re: Solar panels between the rails in Switzerland Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 09:18, 27th April 2025 | |
Topics now merged here.
CfN.
