Installing solar panels between train track rails

Could these removable panels help to electrify transport networks?

Spotted: Solar PV growth is currently ‘on track’ to meet 2050 net-zero targets, according to the IEA, but governments need to keep their feet on the green energy gas pedal and continue installing solar technology at scale if it’s going to stay that way. Startup Sun-Ways is up for the challenge, and is using railway infrastructure to get there.

Recognising that the 1.3 million kilometres of railway lines around the world represented an impressive amount of untapped real estate, the Swiss company has decided to use the space between the rails of train tracks to install standard-sized solar panels without hindering the movement of trains, or having a visual or environmental impact on the surroundings.

Installation of the panels is carried out mechanically using Sun-Ways’ specially designed, patented device, combined with a railway machine. According to the company, the technology is capable of deploying 1,000 metres squared of PV panels a day. Plus, it’s also easy to remove all or part of a PV installation quickly if any maintenance work is required on the railway tracks.

Talking to Springwise, the company’s co-founder Baptiste Danichert explained: “Electricity produced by the PV can be injected directly into the catenaries used to supply power to trains (in the near future) or into the public power grid.” This could mean that Swiss railway networks could produce one terawatt hour of electricity from solar sources every year, equivalent to 30 per cent of the total electricity consumption of public transport companies in Switzerland.

To prove the viability of its technology and accelerate development of the company, Sun-Ways is conducting a pilot project on 100 metres of railroad.

Written By: Matilda Cox