Swiss startup Sun-ways is planning to build a 18 kW pilot PV system between the racks of a 100-m linear section of a railway line in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel.
Why not just make solar roofs over things like parking lots and sidewalks? That way it can provide cover and power, you can use off the shelf panels, and they are unlikely to get damaged.
And you can repair them without needing to shut down a whole railway. All these projects to put solar panels in novel places are totally pointless and solving a problem that doesn’t exist.
In France, solar panels are mandatory for roofs of commercial and industrial buildings and also car parks occupying 500 m² or more of ground surface need to be covered by solar.
Why not just make solar roofs over things like parking lots and sidewalks? That way it can provide cover and power, you can use off the shelf panels, and they are unlikely to get damaged.
And you can repair them without needing to shut down a whole railway. All these projects to put solar panels in novel places are totally pointless and solving a problem that doesn’t exist.
NIMBYs and their freedoms* to do whatever they want.
*not applied to not wanting “golf grass”, wanting a different color of paint on the house, etc.
In France, solar panels are mandatory for roofs of commercial and industrial buildings and also car parks occupying 500 m² or more of ground surface need to be covered by solar.
Wait, France requires parking lots to be covered?
Yep
https://www.electrifying.com/blog/article/solar-panels-to-be-legal-requirement-in-french-car-parks
https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/09/france-to-require-all-large-car-parks-to-be-covered-by-solar-panels