This is just bait for grant and investment cash. Sounds genius to venture capitalists divorced from reality.
there’s literally open land on either side of the field in the photo, why not just put them there?
sounds very silly, like the solar roadways
At least the weight isn’t on the panels this time. I think there are better places to put them, though.
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
It being between the rails probably makes it easier to automate most of the installation, cleaning, and removal at the end of their life.
At the cost of making any maintenance harder, creating a very long layout so no likelihood of redundant connections, and putting breakable objects in a high impact zone
If the system is made well, maybe it can be very easy to drive a carriage over them and remove a lot of them relatively quickly.
I wonder if they can get away with just using a single bolt for each panel. Or maybe none, just long pins and the power connection. Unplug and lift straight up? Maybe it doesn’t have to be a big issue.
I’ll have to check if there are detailed plans.
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?
Were they like “where is one of the most problematic places that we can put some solar panels?”
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!
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.
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.
It’s great to explore if it didn’t cost anything. Since someone needs to spend money, they do need to use some judgement.
Technically there’s no reason this can’t function, but practically this is highly sus. The only benefit would be to save a little land, but it’s hard to see any likelihood if it being worthwhile
Yes, with the exception of this project.
There is not one good idea about it (except if you are on the receiving end of the funding I guess), but lots of really bad ideas about it. Several are outright stupid and unfeasible.
Just fit a brush under every train to wipe dirt off the panels as they travel.
Haha, all good until you get some gravel in the brush!
And that’s why you attach a squeegee, not a brush!
That’s why we workshop these ideas, to make sure we don’t do something stupid.
We just discussed this a month ago in the Technology@lemmy.world community if anyone wants to check it here’s the link: https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/23083174
Why lol. Tiny power output and difficult to maintain.
Expected yield for the Swiss is apparently 2% of the total consumption just with their tracks alone.
2% of an entire nations consumption is still a fuck ton of power. Start adding other “2%” projects together and you’ll hit 100% before you know it.
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.
You really think your hot take is that valuable? I wish i had that confidence.
there’s nothing hot about it. Its simply the tried and tested method of mount the panels in 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
A team of engineers putting 700k on the line to prove their concept is what id defer to.
They say they are durable. They know dirt and snow exists. They have cleaner brushes that attach to trains. They arent aiming for perfect efficiency, and are trying for an energy solution that is cheaper than buying their own land.
Good luck to them.
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…
That depends entirely on where you live.
Does Switzerland not have burglars? I am smelling an opportunity to diversify my income a bit…
In my hometown you couldn’t even leave worthless stuff unattended or someone would steal it or break it. I live in a nice part of the PNW now and there’s almost no crime. People leave $7000 bicycles sitting out front of coffee shops unlocked. People leave $150,000 cars with the tops down in parking lots. There’s products on display outside of stores with nobody watching or caring about it.
