Sunlight may be free, but turning into energy and putting it to use requires a massive investment in infrastructure. It costs more than energy produced by fossil fuels. However, while it is not justified on the basis of a cost reduction, it is justified by the claim that it saves the planet.
K. P. HarrierBut, how much energy could be produce by solar panels on the right-of-way would be the key,
It would also be affected by how much real estate along the ROW is owned by the RR. Aren't most ROW's only 100 ft wide or less? Then you have to string all of those panels together. Truely distributed generation but a problem to maintain and manage. Though I suspect that much of the the Sunset route land would not be prohibitly expensive to acquire unless it is federal and that might by politically unatainable. Of course, if you are electrifying the track, you might consider it.
I'm sure Elan Musk (Tesla) might be interested in a new customer for his Nevada battery plant.
tree68 (4-13):
It would seem during nighttime hours energy could be gotten from local power generating plants, and during the day power given back on a reciprocating basis.
But, how much energy could be produce by solar panels on the right-of-way would be the key, and seemingly would dictate whether the concept is a gold mine or totally impractical.
Best,
K.P.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- K.P.’s absolute “theorem” from early, early childhood that he has seen over and over and over again: Those that CAUSE a problem in the first place will act the most violently if questioned or exposed.
Without a method for storing energy for use during hours of darkness (or periods of less than ideal daylight), there would be times when all would shut down.
Of course, if you could harvest the methane the cows generate, you could run generators at night...
A landfill near here is using the methane generated by said landfill to run gensets. Some such installations use the waste heat from the gensets to heat and aircondition greenhouses - something like 20% of the tomatoes in NY come from such a hot house.
I'm not going to look for information on how many solar panels it would take to power a locomotive - someone else can do that math.
And yes, it will be expensive to build out.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Learning from the Cows (Free Energy -- w/ Photo)
Traveling from Southern California to Texas in behalf of the “Sunset Route Two-Tracking Updates” thread, this scene was come upon:
If the railroads lined their right-of-ways with solar panels, strung catenary and otherwise electrified, wouldn’t they in essence operate without fuel costs?
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