Sun-Ways, a small start-up company based in Switzerland, has found another location for solar panels: the space between the rails of railway tracks is large enough to place standard-sized solar panels without obstructing the movement of trains. However, the scarcity of available space makes it difficult to realize large installations. In addition, strict environmental and heritage protection regulations sometimes hinder the installation of solar panels on private buildings, infrastructure, and mountaintops. 'Solar panels between tracks, on the other hand, have no visual or environmental impact,' says Danichert, co-founder of the company.
The panels, which are one meter wide, can be easily positioned between the rails and fixed using a piston mechanism. The installation is done mechanically by a train developed by the Swiss track maintenance company Scheuchzer. As it moves forward, the train places the photovoltaic panels along the tracks. Sun-Ways is the first to have patented a removable system, in collaboration with EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. The ability to remove the panels is essential for carrying out maintenance work, such as grinding the rails, which allows trains to continue running smoothly along the tracks.
Theoretically, solar panels could be installed on all 5,317 kilometers of the Swiss rail network, a total area corresponding to about 760 football pitches, excluding tunnels or poorly sunlit areas. Sun-Ways claims that the national grid could produce 1 TWh of solar energy per year or about 2 percent of the electricity consumed in Switzerland.
Sun-Ways can count on the support of a dozen partner companies and the Swiss Innovation Promotion Agency. Once it has received approval from the Federal Office of Transport, the Swiss start-up plans to launch the world's first removable photovoltaic system in May. The pilot project will cover a section of the public rail network near the Buttes railway station in western Switzerland. The investment will amount to around 400,000 Swiss francs (about 400,000 euros). 'The biggest challenge is not technological,' says Danichert. "What is needed is a change of mentality in the railway sector, a sector that is usually not very open to innovation."
Photovoltaics is increasingly in vogue and at GreenView Energy we strongly encourage the development of new solar energy projects worldwide to EMPOWER THE FUTURE.
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