Switzerland inaugurates first rail track solar power project
Switzerland's first removable solar power facility on a railway line has been inaugurated in the canton of Neuchâtel.
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Passenger trains will be travelling over a photovoltaic installation that has been laid between the tracks.
The space that remains unused between the two tracks will produce electricity from 100% renewable solar sources, according to Vaud-based start-up Sun-Ways.
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The system has enormous potential, according to the company. What’s more, there is less opposition to panels installed on railway tracks.
“In the long term, our ambition is to produce energy between the rails and re-inject it into the traction current of the trains so that it is practically 100% self-propelled,” Sun-Ways founder and director Joseph Scuderi told Keystone-ATS. The trains run during the day while the panels produce electricity.
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The installation is carried out mechanically using a special train from Scheuchzer, Sun-Ways’ partner in this project. This machine is capable of installing almost 1,000 m2 of solar panels in just a few hours. The Ecublens-based start-up stresses that this makes installation quick and cost-effective.
Hundred metres of track
The project at Buttes, in the Val-de-Travers, concerns 100 linear metres of a TransN line. A total of 48 solar panels will be installed. The electrical connections are secured inside the panels. Cleanliness can be guaranteed thanks to cleaning systems in the form of a cylindrical brush that is placed at the end of the train.
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Joseph Scuderi says he dreams of installing this model all over the world. “But if I stop at the level of Switzerland, that’s 5,000 kilometres of railways and tracks”. He therefore estimates that we could theoretically install almost 2.5 million panels.
Solar power station
Also in the field of solar energy production, the retailer Aldi announced on Thursday that its distribution centre at Domdidier, in the canton of Fribourg, is to house Switzerland’s largest photovoltaic installation on a single roof.
The installation will comprise more than 21,000 modules on a roof surface of around 59,000 m2. It will generate enough electricity to cover the annual consumption of more than 3,500 three-person households. Work will start this summer. Commissioning is scheduled for 2026.
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Adapted from French with DeepL/mga
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