solar energy for traction of high speed rail transportation: a techno-economic analysis

solar energy for traction of high speed rail transportation: a techno-economic analysis

to meet the growing expectation of traveling public, world railways are going ahead in a big way to introduce high speed trains electric railways require huge amounts of energy. many rail networks run their own dedicated power plants. with a view to augment the capacity of the rail networks grid connection so as to make the railway self-reliant, a grid tied pv solar plant with battery storage has been proposed. the present concept is based on installing solar panels along the length of a hs rail network so that the ballast-less tracks could be used as energy carriers. ballast less tracks require little or no maintenance, and the space along the tracks provides a large surface area on which arrays of pv modules can be mounted to generate electricity from sunlight. an example demonstrates that a 330 mw grid connected pv solar plant with battery storage for the mumbai–ahmedabad high speed rail link, generates electricity at $1.67× 10⁶ /mw output and levelized electricity cost at 12.05 c/kwh. net saving in tariff after payback period is about $ 58 million per annum.