Tanya Weaver Mon 3 Feb 2025
Collected at: https://eandt.theiet.org/2025/02/03/french-railway-operator-tests-solar-plant-prototype-unused-train-tracks
The French railway operator SNCF has commenced six months of performance testing of a new prototype that generates energy from PV panels placed on non-operational railway tracks.
SNCF possesses vast land reserves in France – more than 113,800 hectares. By 2030 it plans to install 1,000MWp (megawatt peak) of ground-based PV capacity on this land.
AREP, a subsidiary of SNCF, has been developing a container-based, portable solar power plant that can be placed on non-operational railway tracks and then relocated as needed.
The aim of the project – known as Solveig – is to minimise the footprint of solar installations on the ground while enhancing the solar potential of unused rail lines.
The project’s prototype, which includes eight PV panels together with inverters, storage batteries and mounting equipment, can be shipped either by road or rail to site in standardised ISO containers.
The mounting equipment, which includes a telescopic arm, is used to unload the panels from the container. These are then laid on the tracks and fixed in place. The installation does not require permanent foundations to be built or any construction work.
AREP says this prototype is an ideal solution for temporary power generation and allows it to serve a range of energy demands efficiently.
The Solveig prototype is currently undergoing six months of testing at the Achères technical centre in France. AREP’s engineers placed eight solar panels on the tracks at this location on 17 January 2025, where it will now be monitored for performance and reliability.
Alistair Lenczner, director of innovation AREP, told PV Magazine France: “We have developed a system for delivering PV panels using ISO containers and also a logistics method for installing them on railway tracks that facilitates the deployment of the panels, as well as the reversibility of the installation.”
While the initial plan for the system was to power internal railway operations and support limited local energy needs, AREP will undertake further studies to determine its feasibility for wider distribution. AREP has not yet announced a timeline for scaling the project to industrial levels.
Lenczner believes the Solveig project has export potential across Europe and the rest of the world due to its standardised, container-based design that can easily be adapted to different transport networks.
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