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Trains in Switzerland Are Now Running Over Solar Panels in a First-of-Its-Kind Test (www.zmescience.com)

submitted 19 hours ago by sabreW4K3@lazysoci.al to c/energy@slrpnk.net

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[–] DrunkenPirate@feddit.org 15 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (1 children)

Deployment on rails is dirty cheap. Can be highly automated and you have highvolt power line just a few meters away.

If you put solar upon your roof, 2/3 of the costs are labor costs. The material bill encompasses electrics, mounting system, cables, and pv panels that can get reduced on railways as well.

[–] Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 18 hours ago (2 children)

Cheap if you only count the cost of plopping them down and walking away, the train could kick up enough dust and debris that efficiency is impacted significantly more than installing them on a roof would have been, necessitating installing new ones sooner.

[–] DrunkenPirate@feddit.org 16 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

It’s all theory. That’s why I think it’s worth a try and learn the facts.

Edit: A rough estimation with averages: 10 kWp gives 11kwh a year in Swiss, 1kwp panel costs 500€, 1kwh energy costs 0,28 EUR in Swiss. Panel material costs for 10 kWp is 5,000€ and earns you 3,080€ (11,000*0,28€) yearly. This shows the value of the idea.

[–] blarghly@lemmy.world 6 points 16 hours ago

What if the train runs a street sweeper brush behind it to clean them off every time?