Solar power is getting more and more pervasive these days, and here we are with the roof of a tunnel which stretches on for two miles over Belgium’s high speed rail line, getting fitted with 16,000 or so solar panels which will no doubt help reduce the average carbon footprint for folks living there – delivering power for trains that run through the Antwerp Central Station as well as the surrounding railway infrastructure. Solar solution provider Enfinity claims that around 4,000 trains per year might soon run on solar power alone thanks to this installation – this is roughly an entire day’s worth of Belgian rail traffic, so all we need to do is make sure that the efficiency of such a setup is increased by another 365 times, and you have a self-sustaining train service.
The effort to cover two miles’ worth of train tunnel took nearly a year to complete, thanks to dedicated and hardworking engineers who continued working over the year. These panels were installed courtesy of a special ballast tile structure that will do away with the need for rooftop perforations. According to Enfinity, the installation has just started generating the estimated 3.3 MWh of electricity per year, which is an astounding amount since it is the equivalent of the average annual electricity consumption of nearly 1,000 homes.
Will we see similar solar installations happen elsewhere worldwide? If it could be harnessed, imagine how much greener public transportation would get. Hopefully the security surrounding the entire solar train tunnel is stringent enough to prevent any theft.
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