Were they like “where is one of the most problematic places that we can put some solar panels?”
Swiss Experiment Will Place Solar Panels Between Train Tracks
Submitted 4 days ago by solo@slrpnk.net to energy@slrpnk.net
https://cleantechnica.com/2024/11/12/swiss-experiment-will-place-solar-panels-between-train-tracks/
Comments
Anticorp@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Schmoo@slrpnk.net 3 days ago
This is just bait for grant and investment cash. Sounds genius to venture capitalists divorced from reality.
growsomethinggood@reddthat.com 4 days ago
A very neat idea, quite innovative! My initial reaction would be that this would be a great way to recycle panels from larger, traditional projects that are getting upgraded anyway. My concern with new panels is that with moving trains above them, there’s a strong chance for breaks in the glass depending on what’s being transported, and a huge amount of loss due to dirt accumulating. Those conditions may result in harsh losses for new panels, which may be more beneficial in production elsewhere! Mid- to end-of-life panels might not be producing as much power anyway, so getting a second life in a situation like this one might squeeze a little more power out of them that you wouldn’t get otherwise.
Of course, solar panels are very inexpensive nowadays, so financially it might not make that big a difference, but I think it’s good to think about best use of the resources we have regardless!
Valmond@lemmy.world 4 days ago
This is a great idea!
To get grant money.
Otherwise it’s even more stupid than solar roadways.
I mean except if you live on a planet where 99% of land is rails.
growsomethinggood@reddthat.com 4 days ago
Hey, ideas are great to explore, and we don’t know if there’s a place or community this would serve. Not every project has to be scalable! Diversity of uses is a good thing. There’s not a single solution for moving to renewable energy, creativity will be required.
officermike@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Just fit a brush under every train to wipe dirt off the panels as they travel.
growsomethinggood@reddthat.com 4 days ago
Haha, all good until you get some gravel in the brush!
LodeMike@lemmy.today 4 days ago
Why lol. Tiny power output and difficult to maintain.
mosiacmango@lemm.ee 4 days ago
Expected yield for the Swiss is apparently 2% of the total consumption for the nation just with their tracks alone.
Thats not a lot by itself, but add a few innovative solutions together an you hit double digits in powering a nation. That’s very valuable.
TriflingToad@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
there’s literally open land on either side of the field in the photo, why not just put them there?
OwlPaste@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Have no one considered that these would be lifted and shifted by the next weekend when they are installed? Like only reason that solar panels don’t get nicked from people’s houses is that in most cases you need scaffolding to gain access and someone might notice…
Anticorp@lemmy.world 4 days ago
That depends entirely on where you live.
OwlPaste@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Does Switzerland not have burglars? I am smelling an opportunity to diversify my income a bit…
Grass@sh.itjust.works 4 days ago
I didn’t realize the swiss had people this dumb too
Put it next to the tracks and you don’t have to stop using the tracks during the inevitable daily maintenance from being damaged by the trains in various ways, and it will still be in the middle of nowhere where nobody will ever see it. Plus wiring will be much less of a shitshow and less susceptible to damage.
tee9000@lemmy.world 3 days ago
You really think your hot take is that valuable? I wish i had that confidence.
Grass@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
there’s nothing hot about it. Its simply the tried and tested method of mount the panels and a stand don’t put anything on top to block the light. some silly dude already tried floor solar panels and they lost too much performance to the protective layers alone. this looks like plain unarmoured panels directly in a high vibration location, flat against the ground where the heat off the back won’t escape and dirt and snow will build up with nowhere to go because of the rails
Kazumara@discuss.tchncs.de 4 days ago
We just discussed this a month ago in the Technology@lemmy.world community: discuss.tchncs.de/post/23083174
0laura@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 days ago
sounds very silly, like the solar roadways
threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 4 days ago
At least the weight isn’t on the panels this time. I think there are better places to put them, though.
0laura@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 days ago
yep. at least to me it feels like the fact that its between the rails is just to make it cooler, not actually for any real benefit. i love solar, but this project sounds sus
solo@slrpnk.net 4 days ago
I dunno, to me it sounded like an interesting experiment. Experiments sometimes go well, sometimes they fail.
Not so sure why you compare it to the solar roads tho, it’s not that the solar panels have to sustain the weight of the train, since they are going to be between the rails. Of course there are a tone of things that can go wrong. One thing for example that made me wonder - and it is not addressed in this article - is in relation to the vibrations of the rails. Solar panels don’t respond well to vibrations, at all. But, they also mention that the initial test went well and they got the permits to test them for spring of 2025. Let’s see?