India launched a trial train using solar energy

The Cabinet of Ministers of the Government of India, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is working to actively introduce solar energy. For India, this is a natural move - an average country located near the equator receives at least 300 sunny days a year. Among the first initiatives, the use of solar panels on the roofs of freight trains was chosen.

Solar energy, providing production and households, is actively entering our lives. But vehicles using photovoltaics are still exotic. We have already seen aircraft , ships, and even a car using solar panels. Now it is time and train. Minister of Science and Technology Harsh Wardhan explained that the idea of ​​installing panels on the train came to him precisely after he learned about the Solar Impulse project.
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However, while these panels can provide only 15% of the total energy required for train movement. On the other hand, during a stop, the train will transfer the energy received from the sun to the power grid, thus becoming a mobile solar power station. In addition, placing the panels on a moving train will cause less dust to settle on them.

In the case of successful operation of freight trains with solar panels, the government plans to transfer this experience to passenger trains. In general, the renewable energy program developed by the Indian government suggests that in the next 8 years the amount of energy received from the sun should increase fivefold and reach a capacity of 100 GW.

The amount of investment in the development of solar energy should be $ 100 billion. Among the projects is a 750 megawatt solar power plant in the state of Madhya Pradesh, which should be put into operation in 2016 and will be the largest in the world.