this post was submitted on 04 Oct 2024
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Why not just make solar roofs over things like parking lots and sidewalks? That way it can provide cover and power, you can use off the shelf panels, and they are unlikely to get damaged.
In France, solar panels are mandatory for roofs of commercial and industrial buildings and also car parks occupying 500 m² or more of ground surface need to be covered by solar.
And you can repair them without needing to shut down a whole railway. All these projects to put solar panels in novel places are totally pointless and solving a problem that doesn't exist.
Yeah until we literally run out of roofs, fields, parking lots, and fucking ocean space and are contemplating a fucking Dyson sphere I really don't understand these projects.
I doubt they're doing this and only this.
wouldn't make much sense to put up a solar roof after doing this. it would block the sun.
parking lots would require the government to own said parking lots. its why you often see them at schools (because its government funded)
Covering parking lots is expensive and you lose spots to supports and there's the inevitable car hitting those supports.
Putting panels between rail lines doesn't need a structure so it should be far cheaper and easier to install and fix, even if they aren't ideal.
They will get dirty very fast, either from dirt thrown around by passing trains, or by the brake dust.
Also the heavy vibration that can occur when a train passes over
It shouldn't be too hard to clean them with something running on the tracks, but it does seem less than ideal.
A chain or wire hanging off a train car and dragging along will "clean" them real quick...