Solar panels will be rolled onto Swiss railway tracks ‘like a carpet’
www.euronews.com
After long delays, the removable PV system will finally be tested on a western track next spring.

I’m all for putting solar panels all over the place, but won’t these get dusty and oily and need loads of cleaning after trains pass over?

Also, costing €623,000 over three years sounds rather expensive for just 100m (although that roughly equates to 11KW).

  • lnxtx (xe/xem/xyr)@feddit.nlEnglish
    0·
    2 years ago

    Jeez, solar freaking railways.

    Railways are dirty, brake dust, oil and lube leaking, human waste (from a car toilet if there is no tank).

    • Mitchie151@lemmy.world
      0·
      2 years ago

      Surely the maintenance of such problems would be very easy though, given it’s already on rails you could run a carriage with washing machinery underneath to clean these occasionally. Interested to see how serious the deterioration over time is due to the grime.

    • Diplomjodler@lemmy.world
      0·
      2 years ago

      This is Switzerland, not India. Also, it’s a test. It’s designed to find out exactly how serious those problems are and if they prevent the system from being effective.

          • Valmond@lemmy.world
            0·
            2 years ago

            Putting solar panels between rails is as stupid as solar roadways. There is nothing to be gained and just lots of hurdles to overcome to make it (almost) as good as a normal solar panel on a roof or on a stick or on a wall.

            Tell me, why on earth would you put solar panels between rails?

            Edit: lot of anger here, but no answers why the panels should go between the rails, shaken daily by heavy trains. You invested in it or what?

            • originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com
              0·
              2 years ago

              Tell me, why on earth would you put solar panels between rails?

              were just trying to find some efficiency in the space wasted by rail not-in-use. thats a lot of land. im not saying its possible, but i dont think thought experiments about these kinds of things is a bad idea

              • Valmond@lemmy.world
                0·
                2 years ago

                That’s like 0.00000001% of land.

                There is so much unused land, why bother trains and their schedules with a maintenance nightmare between their rails?

                It is just a stupid idea with no upside except the oily greasy dirty solar panels up-side that can’t get cleaned because, … wait for it …, there are Trains running over it!

                I can’t fathom how such a stupid idea got more that 1 meter away from the bar counter.