In the EU there was a "solar" electric train

Typically, in the news there are messages about solar-powered airplanes, electric cars and other vehicles. This time there was an electric train that replenishes energy reserves thanks to the solar panels that cover the upper part of the special tunnel. Everything is quite simple: the electric train runs on a line, a certain part of which is closed by a man-made “tunnel”. The length of the tunnel is about 3.6 kilometers, and, as mentioned above, the upper part of this structure is covered with solar panels.

The total number of solar panels placed in this way is about 16 thousand (over an area of ​​50 thousand square meters). According to the developers, the capacity of such an energy station is 3.3 megawatt-hours. The cost of the entire project cost the authorities not so much - 15.6 million euros. The tunnel is installed on the line "Paris-Amsterdam."

By the way, the energy received per year during the operation of such a system is enough for the needs of the entire Belgian railway for about a day. Clearly, this is not so much, but nevertheless, such a structure can be called a significant achievement. The railway power station, in addition to recharging the batteries of the electric train, also supplies electricity to the railway station in Antwerp.

Of course, solar panels themselves cannot be called “clean” - their production negatively affects the state of the environment. But, nevertheless, the power plant itself is a new word in the issue of supplying energy to railway transport. Let's hope that scientists and engineers come up with a more “green” way to produce solar panels, and transport will gradually switch to solar and other, more “clean”, types of fuel and energy.

Via Dvice .