4 ms·

It makes more sense than the road, because at least the train isn’t driving directly on the thing. I wonder if the power could be delivered directly to the trai

It makes more sense than the road, because at least the train isn’t driving directly on the thing. I wonder if the power could be delivered directly to the train. Although the only savings really would be transmission costs, not sure how big of a deal that is…

JumpCrisscross 4mo ago
> at least the train isn’t driving directly on the thing It’s just kicking up dust and dripping lubricant onto it. Maybe this makes sense. I’m deeply sceptical. Especially when you could just be putting vertical panels to the sides.
- Epa095 4mo ago
  Initially, he planned to remove dust from the surface of the photovoltaic cells using a cylindrical brush mounted on the rear of a train. “However, we realised that each time a train passes, it creates an airflow that sweeps away all the dust,” he said. https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/emissions-reduction/solar-energy-from-railways-shows-first-positive-results-in-switzerland/91628036 https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/emissions-reduction/solar-energ...
  - zdragnar 4mo ago
    That seems pretty optimistic in the long run. Even a high power leaf blower won't get all the dust off of a dirty surface, especially if any sort of hydraulic oil, bearing grease or other viscous fluid mists onto the surface.
    - happosai 4mo ago
      At least trains no longer drop literal shit between rails...
    - Ma8ee 4mo ago
      One thing that has struck me with our own solar panels is that they have to be very dirty before I notice any significant degradation in efficiency. And when they do get completely covered in pollen or leaves, a brief rain is usually enough to clean them.
  - panick21_ 4mo ago
    Until you realize that polan is super stick and is really had to remove. I had a table outside and just 'blow away' dust didn't work at all. You need to actually clean with friction, water and cleaner.
    - marysol5 4mo ago
      So maintenance, which is required anyway.
      - panick21_ 4mo ago
        Solar doesn't need a lot maintenance and certainty not every 2 weeks in summer.
- hx8 4mo ago
  It's solar, of course the unit economics are going to pencil out positive in the majority of climates and energy markets. The real question is "why should we put them here instead of somewhere else." I wonder if the benefits are legal/jurisdiction/political. The total amount of track they could install this on is huge, and it doesn't seem like something that will be disagreeable on the local level. It could just be the easiest place to put it to deal with property law and zoning etc. Another political benefit is that it means work for a very large number of jurisdictions, as there are suitable tracks just about everywhere.
  - JumpCrisscross 4mo ago
    > It's solar, of course the unit economics are going to pencil out positive in the majority of climates and energy markets This is far from an of course. There were idiots trying to do solar roads a few years ago. The math didn't pencil out.
    - hx8 4mo ago
      1. That was 20 years ago. I wonder how it would pencil out now. 2. Yeah it was kind of dumb to put the panels into a high wear environment like a road. 3. What matters more is which projects pencil out the best. There are too many to choose from that have a positive ROI.
      - JumpCrisscross 4mo ago
        > 3. What matters more is which projects pencil out the best. There are too many to choose from that have a positive ROI Sure. I'm unconvinced a railroad is the best place we need to be putting panels for anything other than PR value.
        hx8 4mo ago
        If PR value gets panels installed faster than they otherwise would be who cares. The most important thing is we install as much solar as possible as quickly as possible, because we're killing ourselves fighting wars for other energy sources that poison our entire planet to use.

JumpCrisscross 4mo ago

> at least the train isn’t driving directly on the thing It’s just kicking up dust and dripping lubricant onto it. Maybe this makes sense. I’m deeply sceptical. Especially when you could just be putting vertical panels to the sides.

Epa095 4mo ago
Initially, he planned to remove dust from the surface of the photovoltaic cells using a cylindrical brush mounted on the rear of a train. “However, we realised that each time a train passes, it creates an airflow that sweeps away all the dust,” he said. https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/emissions-reduction/solar-energy-from-railways-shows-first-positive-results-in-switzerland/91628036 https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/emissions-reduction/solar-energ...
- zdragnar 4mo ago
  That seems pretty optimistic in the long run. Even a high power leaf blower won't get all the dust off of a dirty surface, especially if any sort of hydraulic oil, bearing grease or other viscous fluid mists onto the surface.
  - happosai 4mo ago
    At least trains no longer drop literal shit between rails...
  - Ma8ee 4mo ago
    One thing that has struck me with our own solar panels is that they have to be very dirty before I notice any significant degradation in efficiency. And when they do get completely covered in pollen or leaves, a brief rain is usually enough to clean them.
- panick21_ 4mo ago
  Until you realize that polan is super stick and is really had to remove. I had a table outside and just 'blow away' dust didn't work at all. You need to actually clean with friction, water and cleaner.
  - marysol5 4mo ago
    So maintenance, which is required anyway.
    - panick21_ 4mo ago
      Solar doesn't need a lot maintenance and certainty not every 2 weeks in summer.
hx8 4mo ago
It's solar, of course the unit economics are going to pencil out positive in the majority of climates and energy markets. The real question is "why should we put them here instead of somewhere else." I wonder if the benefits are legal/jurisdiction/political. The total amount of track they could install this on is huge, and it doesn't seem like something that will be disagreeable on the local level. It could just be the easiest place to put it to deal with property law and zoning etc. Another political benefit is that it means work for a very large number of jurisdictions, as there are suitable tracks just about everywhere.
- JumpCrisscross 4mo ago
  > It's solar, of course the unit economics are going to pencil out positive in the majority of climates and energy markets This is far from an of course. There were idiots trying to do solar roads a few years ago. The math didn't pencil out.
  - hx8 4mo ago
    1. That was 20 years ago. I wonder how it would pencil out now. 2. Yeah it was kind of dumb to put the panels into a high wear environment like a road. 3. What matters more is which projects pencil out the best. There are too many to choose from that have a positive ROI.
    - JumpCrisscross 4mo ago
      > 3. What matters more is which projects pencil out the best. There are too many to choose from that have a positive ROI Sure. I'm unconvinced a railroad is the best place we need to be putting panels for anything other than PR value.
      - hx8 4mo ago
        If PR value gets panels installed faster than they otherwise would be who cares. The most important thing is we install as much solar as possible as quickly as possible, because we're killing ourselves fighting wars for other energy sources that poison our entire planet to use.