Groundbreaking solar railway project gets back on track

Swiss authorities have given the green light to a three-year pilot project to install removable solar panels on a railway track in western Switzerland. The unique technology has been generating interest in other countries. Sun-Ways, a small private start-up, confirmed last week that after ten months of building prototypes, doing tests, taking measurements and obtaining expert appraisals, the Federal Office of Transport (FOT) had finally granted them a permit to begin testing their technology on a railway line open to traffic in canton Neuchâtel. The company will begin deploying its removable solar panel system from spring 2025 on a 100-metre section of track operated by transN, canton Neuchâtel’s public transport company. For the initial three-year test phase, 48 panels will be inserted on sleepers between the tracks, together with electricity infrastructure, to be able to inject power into the local grid. The initial test phase is budgeted at CHF585,000 ($681,000). This will be a ...