Green Electricity for Railways: Study Sees Huge Potential

Traction power from the sun: According to a study, solar systems on the track surface, on noise barriers or on railway buildings could produce large amounts of green electricity for train operations. If all possible technical possibilities were exhausted, the generated energy could cover more than a quarter of the railway's electricity needs, according to Tüv Rheinland in Cologne.

This comes from a study by the test service provider for the German Railway Research Center (DZSF) of the Federal Railways. According to Tüv Rheinland, most of the solar energy can be fed directly into the catenary network. “Only a small part goes to the railway infrastructure buildings,” explains Jürgen van der Weem, a railway technology expert at Tüv. “The electricity is generated where it is needed. The energy losses due to conversion and frequent transport are much lower.”

Three scenarios

According to experts, there are three scenarios. The first envisions photovoltaic systems with high technical and economic potential and low manufacturing costs. The experts there see an annual photovoltaic capacity of 380 gigawatt-hours. They say it can be implemented in a short time. In the second scenario, the costs are higher, but so are the returns: about 910 gigawatt-hours can be obtained.

According to the study, if all possible technical potential is eventually exhausted, around 2,940 gigawatt-hours of electricity could be generated. To put it into perspective: This amount of energy could supply almost one million average households every year. With the average annual electricity requirement of the railways at around 11,000 gigawatt-hours, this amounts to a share of around 27 percent, according to Tüv Rheinland.

According to Deutsche Bahn's own data, more than 68 percent of its traction power comes from renewable energies. By 2038, this should reach 100 percent.