It seems as if everyone is starting to see the importance of running on solar energy. Homes in many parts of the world have installed panels to make sure they save on cost and they never run out of energy. And when it comes to this alternative source of energy, there are just so many ways to utilize them.
In fact, some companies have gone so far as to making use of solar energy for the first time ever in a certain application. Leading this movement is Switzerland. The country has definitely thought outside the box, and hopefully, this will serve as inspiration for others to follow.
Europe has definitely shown how much the citizens love to travel via the train, and this mode of transportation is about to set something new because of the continent’s solar energy production. In fact, the Swiss have already started talks on installing solar panels in between train tracks, which means that even their trains will save on costs.
Behind this innovative plan is a startup called Sun-Ways. The company is just waiting for a sign-off from the Federal Office of Transport before they begin installing their panels between the tracks near Buttes Station, which is found in the west side of the country.
This Swiss national railway network stretches to more than 2,000 miles of track. The experts have made an estimate on the power saved and the amount of power generation they came up with may potentially reach past 1 terawatt hour or 2 percent of the entire gross annual consumption.
“There are over a million kilometers of railway lines in the world,” co-founder Baptiste Danichert said when he spoke to SWI Swissinfo. “We believe that 50 percent of the world’s railways could be equipped with our system.”
A great way to make use of solar panels and incorporate these into an economy is to look for a flat ground that many industries use. A good example of this would be canals, pastures, or warehousing.
Some companies have also utilized solar panels to generate power for agricultural purposes, a strategy called “agrivoltaics.” On the other hand, India and California use their massive canal networks and hot sun in order to generate power while they make sure they save real estate space.
Sun-Ways’ invention makes use of a specialized train car in order to lay down solar panels. This very much like unrolling a carpet, which means that it’s very easy and that they are able to save on labor costs.
Right now, the idea they have is receiving some resistance. Many have expressed concern on the possibility that the reflection from the sun off the panels may distract drivers, and that in places where they experience heavy snowfall, the panels could be rendered useless and wasteful.
There are also issues such as dust, debris, and damage from the vibrations of the rails. These might just interfere with the panels. However, Sun-Ways have addressed all the concerns and say that they are taking all of these into account with the design and materials used for the panels. For dust, they said that brushes could be attached to the undersides of trains so that these could already clean the panels as the cars pass.
Many are already waiting in anticipation for their pilot run at Buttes.
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