PVTRAIN - The application of innovative
photovoltaic technology to the railway trains
LIFE02 ENV/IT/000064
Project description Environmental issues Beneficiaries Administrative data R e a d m o r e Contact details:
Project Manager: Alessandro BASILI
Tel: 39 (06) 8412236
Email: a.basili@trenitalia.it
Project description:
Background
Photovoltaic technology, which converts solar energy into a usable source, has
not been widely applied to railway carriages. It can lead to considerable
reductions in greenhouse gas emissions: for each kWh of energy produced by
traditional plants, a reduction of 750g carbon dioxide emitted into the
atmosphere is achieved with the photovoltaic modules. Applying photovoltaic
modules to rolling-stock also has the potential to reduce dangerous waste by
extending the life of accumulators. The current practice is to use a buffer system
fed by a continuous current. Suspension of the energy supply sets off the
accumulators which continually recharge when run down. In a photovoltaic
system, however, accumulators are kept continually charged by solar energy and,
as a result, are subject to less damage. Objectives
The project aimed to test the possibility of using innovative photovoltaic cells in
railways coaches, freight wagons and locomotives, for charging the on board
accumulators. This technology was expected to reduce pollution and provide
economic savings. Installing photovoltaic tiles on rail coaches would also lead to
a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, as photovoltaic modules keep the
accumulators and the auxiliary apparatus of the trains charged during stops,
without resorting to primary sources. The project also aimed to create a data
bank for measuring the performances obtained in the tests. These results would
bank for measuring the performances obtained in the tests. These results would
be disseminated among various interest groups. Results
The project beneficiary installed amorphous silicon type photovoltaic tiles on
five passenger coaches and US 116 photovoltaic panels on two locomotives and
three freight coaches. The photovoltaic modules can be attached to the curved
surfaces of the coaches, locomotives and freight wagons and keep the on-board
accumulators charged even during stops. As well as providing energy cost
savings, the photovoltaic technologies offer two significant environmental
advantages over non-renewable energy sources: • Less greenhouse gas
production: The solar panels keep the accumulators and auxiliary devices in
charge during the stops, without depending on the main electrical system, with a
reduction of 750 gr. of carbon dioxide per KWh of produced energy compared to
the traditional sources. • Longer lifespan of the accumulators: These are
subjected to less wear and tear as a result of the photovoltaic cells being kept
constantly charged. Longer lifecycles means less hazardous waste. The energy
produced by the photovoltaic panels can have different uses: they can be applied
to the coaches and locomotives to charge the accumulators for the lighting and
air conditioning, and they can also be installed on the freight carriages to
recharge the accumulators so as to ensure the power supply for electric locks
used to protect transported goods. Trials were carried out on the whole system
to assess its validity. Energy yields were shown to have improved in the testing
period of June to September 2004 from the same period of the previous year,
due to the streamlining of the capturing mechanism. The converter transforms
the electric energy generated by the PV panels into electric energy suitable for the
recharging of the batteries. For the observation period July 2003 to October
2005, the energy used by the prototype coach was 1378.42 kWh, resulting in a
reduction of 1033.82 kg of CO2 emissions. Between August 2004 and October
2005, the energy used by the prototype locomotives was 159.3 KWh (sufficient to
keep the on-board accumulators going), with a CO2 emissions reduction of
119.95 kg; the energy used by the prototype freight wagons was 540 KWh
(sufficient for the electrical locks), resulting in a reduction of 405.51 kg of CO2
emissions. These results were disseminated to various interest groups and a
database was built up. This project has been awarded the title of "Best of the Best"
from a shortlist of 22 "Best" LIFE Environment projects in 2006-2007 Top
Environmental issues addressed:
Themes
Services & Commerce - Transportation - Storage
Energy - Supply
Keywords
Keywords
rail transport‚ renewable energy Natura 2000 sites
Not applicable
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Beneficiaries:
Coordinator
Type of organisation
Description
Partners
TRENITALIA
Public enterprise
Trenitalia is the transport company of the
Gruppo Ferrovie dello Stato, Italy's state
railways group. None Top
Administrative data:
Project reference
Duration
Total budget
EU contribution
Project location
LIFE02 ENV/IT/000064
01-NOV-2002 to 31-OCT -2005
1,252,972.00 €
616,111.00 €
Lazio(Italia)
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Read more:
Project web site
Project web site
Publication: Layman report
Video feature
Video link
Webpage of the beneficiary
Website of the beneficiary
Title: Layman report Year: 2004 No of pages: 18 Title: Video feature of the project (15 MB) "Trenitalia: progetto PV Train" (5')
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Project description Environmental issues Beneficiaries Administrative data Project description Environmental issues Beneficiaries Administrative data R e a d m o r e