Swiss Startup Tests Solar Panels Between Active Railway Tracks in 100-Metre Pilot

Sun-Ways installed 100 metres of photovoltaic panels between active railway tracks in Buttes in the Val-de-Travers district. The installation used 48 specially designed panels with a combined capacity of 18 kWp. Euronews reported that the project began operation last year as a three-year trial.

After one year the panels produced around 16,000 kWh of electricity. Sun-Ways estimates annual production loss due to lack of panel inclination at around 10 per cent. Switzerland’s railway network totals 5,317 kilometres.

The company estimates full coverage of the network could produce around 1 TWh of electricity per year, equal to about 2 per cent of the country’s total energy consumption. The panels are more resistant than standard rooftop panels and include an anti-reflection filter. They are equipped with built-in sensors and can be cleaned by brushes attached to the end of trains.

Sun-Ways stated that after one year the plant “worked perfectly” and required no special maintenance. Electricity from the pilot installation is fed directly into the grid. The company signed a collaboration contract with an Italian business partner in contact with Rete Ferroviaria Italiana.

Sun-Ways received government approval to install a solar railway in South Korea and is in discussions with companies from the Netherlands, China, India, and Singapore. A 2022 study published in Science Direct found that a 34° tilt on solar panels in the Iberian Peninsula resulted in annual production losses lower than 1 per cent.