Swiss startup Sunways plans to build a pilot 18 kW PV system between the racks of a 100-meter linear section of a railway line in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel.
The Swiss Federal Transport Office (FOT) has approved the country’s first removable solar power plant to be deployed on a railway line.
The project is being developed by Swiss startup Sunways, which plans to deploy the system next year on a 100-meter linear section of railway line 221, operated by transN, the public transport company of the canton of Neuchâtel.
The pilot system will rely on 48 panels, each with a power of 380 W and their combined power will be 18 kW. The project will be built at a cost of €621,800 ($685,920) and will inject power into the local electricity grid.
Local electricity supplier Viteos and DG-Rail, a company specialized in electrical railway installations, will collaborate with Sunways in the construction of the project.
In the summer of 2023, the Federal Office for Transport initially rejected the request as a precaution, as it had no technical references on the proposed technology.
With the support of industrial partners, Sunways called on two professors of mechanics from the Haute Ecole d’Ingénierie et de Gestion du Canton de Vaud (HEIG-VD) to conduct an independent assessment on specially designed prototypes. Geste Engineering, a Swiss specialist in large-scale railway engineering projects, then carried out a technical and safety analysis. The aim was to demonstrate that the system is perfectly compatible with the FOT safety criteria, as the pilot plant will operate on a railway line open to rail traffic.
“As controversies surrounding the installation of solar power plants in the Alps increase, Sunways’ technology could provide a relevant response and achieve the necessary increase in solar electricity production,” the company said. “It indeed exploits an unused space without disrupting train traffic or track maintenance and inspection work.”
The company explained that the solar panels can be installed manually or mechanically using a railway machine specially designed by Scheuchzer SA, an expert in railway maintenance, which it claims can install up to 1,000 m2 of solar panels per day. In addition, the solar power station is removable and can be removed to allow maintenance work.
The consent issued by the OFT is subject to several technical conditions, including those concerning a series of additional tests and measurements to be carried out during the life of the pilot project. It is expected that this will not have any harmful consequences for the railway infrastructure.
Similarly, removal and installation tests will be carried out to demonstrate that Sunways’ pilot installation is perfectly adapted to the constraints associated with maintenance work and operation of the line. These tests will be carried out under the supervision of RM voie ferrée, a company specialized in inspections and railway safety.
This content is copyrighted and may not be reused. If you would like to collaborate with us and reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
Popular content
