Solar railway tunnel in Antwerp (DIRK WAEM/AFP/Getty Images)
A new solar railway tunnel in Europe will be sited in the City of Antwerp on the link between Paris and Amsterdam. Using solar panels to generate electricity, the tunnel is expected to save millions and millions of tons of CO2 emissions.
The solar railway tunnel will be powered by 50,000 solar panels, over a space the size of approximately 8 football fields. The solar electricity generated by the panels will help power trains passing through at speeds up to 186 miles per hour. Excess electricity from the solar tunnel will be fed into the grid to offset energy requirements of the city of Antwerp.
The new solar transportation project is the first of its kind, but others may follow if this one is successful. It is projected to generate about 3300 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity each year, which is enough to power 950 homes. The solar panels will be built by Belgium-based Efinity.
Tags: railway tunnel europe, Solar Panels, solar power, solar railway, solar railway tunnel, solar transportation, solar tunnel
Great idea! I hope it’s successful so that others will take note and invest in their own solar transportation projects.