Swiss startup Sun-ways is planning to build a 18 kW pilot PV system between the racks of a 100-m linear section of a railway line in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel.
My first reaction was how stupid this is. Dirt, debris and other things will get on the panels and cause lots of problems, but after a few minutes I realized it’s actually quite brilliant.
There are three major costs of solar, the panels, the location, and the wiring + inverters. If the tracks are used as the wires (extremely low resistance paths back to an inverter), the location is wasted space so basically free, and the inverter can be placed anywhere along the path to remove the power from the tracks, the cost of this comes down to mainly the cost of the panel, which is actually pretty cheep these days.
The real challenges will be in cleaning & maintenance, vandalism, and modifying the track to limit the conductive paths (assuming they’re used for this).
Standing next to trains as they pass, or on one’s with open decks, you’ll know they produce a lot of wind. I assume under the train this is even stronger, with a strong low pressure area. This should be able to clear most obstructions without an issue whenever a train passes. Sure, it’ll also toss more on, but there’s some equilibrium that it’ll reach and it shouldn’t ever get worse. My guess is that’s well before it is a major issue for the panels.
My first reaction was how stupid this is. Dirt, debris and other things will get on the panels and cause lots of problems, but after a few minutes I realized it’s actually quite brilliant.
There are three major costs of solar, the panels, the location, and the wiring + inverters. If the tracks are used as the wires (extremely low resistance paths back to an inverter), the location is wasted space so basically free, and the inverter can be placed anywhere along the path to remove the power from the tracks, the cost of this comes down to mainly the cost of the panel, which is actually pretty cheep these days.
The real challenges will be in cleaning & maintenance, vandalism, and modifying the track to limit the conductive paths (assuming they’re used for this).
Throw a few of those sexy lady mud flaps on the back of a train with a hose. Darn near auto squeegee!
Standing next to trains as they pass, or on one’s with open decks, you’ll know they produce a lot of wind. I assume under the train this is even stronger, with a strong low pressure area. This should be able to clear most obstructions without an issue whenever a train passes. Sure, it’ll also toss more on, but there’s some equilibrium that it’ll reach and it shouldn’t ever get worse. My guess is that’s well before it is a major issue for the panels.