“Solar” electric train appeared in the EU

Usually in the news flashed messages about solar-powered aircraft, electric cars and other vehicles. At this time, an electric train appeared, which 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 the 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 (50 thousand square meters in area). According to the developers, the power of such a power plant is 3.3 megawatt-hour. The cost of the entire project cost the authorities not so expensive - 15.6 million euros. The tunnel is installed on the line "Paris-Amsterdam".
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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 still such a structure can already be called a significant achievement. The railway power station, in addition to charging the batteries of the electric train, also supplies electricity to the railway station in Antwerp.

Of course, the solar panels themselves cannot be called “clean” - their production has a rather negative effect on the environment. But, nevertheless, the power station itself is a new word in the question of the supply of energy to railway transport. Hopefully, scientists and engineers will come up with a more “green” way of producing solar panels, and transport will gradually shift to solar and other, “cleaner”, types of fuel and energy.

Via Dvice .