PVTRAIN-Theapplicationofinnovative

photovoltaictechnologytotherailwaytrains
LIFE02ENV/IT/000064

ProjectdescriptionEnvironmentalissuesBeneficiariesAdministrativedata
R e a d m o r e

Contactdetails:
ProjectManager:AlessandroBASILI
Tel:39(06)8412236
Email:a.basili@trenitalia.it

Projectdescription:

Background

Photovoltaictechnology,whichconvertssolarenergyintoausablesource,has
notbeenwidelyappliedtorailwaycarriages.Itcanleadtoconsiderable
reductionsingreenhousegasemissions:foreachkWhofenergyproducedby
traditionalplants,areductionof750gcarbondioxideemittedintothe
atmosphereisachievedwiththephotovoltaicmodules.Applyingphotovoltaic
modulestorolling-stockalsohasthepotentialtoreducedangerouswasteby
extendingthelifeofaccumulators.Thecurrentpracticeistouseabuffersystem
fedbyacontinuouscurrent.Suspensionoftheenergysupplysetsoffthe
accumulatorswhichcontinuallyrechargewhenrundown.Inaphotovoltaic
system,however,accumulatorsarekeptcontinuallychargedbysolarenergyand,
asaresult,aresubjecttolessdamage.

Objectives

Theprojectaimedtotestthepossibilityofusinginnovativephotovoltaiccellsin
railwayscoaches,freightwagonsandlocomotives,forchargingtheonboard
accumulators.Thistechnologywasexpectedtoreducepollutionandprovide
economicsavings.Installingphotovoltaictilesonrailcoacheswouldalsoleadto
areductioningreenhousegasemissions,asphotovoltaicmoduleskeepthe
accumulatorsandtheauxiliaryapparatusofthetrainschargedduringstops,
withoutresortingtoprimarysources.Theprojectalsoaimedtocreateadata
bankformeasuringtheperformancesobtainedinthetests.Theseresultswould
bankformeasuringtheperformancesobtainedinthetests.Theseresultswould
bedisseminatedamongvariousinterestgroups.

Results

Theprojectbeneficiaryinstalledamorphoussilicontypephotovoltaictileson
fivepassengercoachesandUS116photovoltaicpanelsontwolocomotivesand
threefreightcoaches.Thephotovoltaicmodulescanbeattachedtothecurved
surfacesofthecoaches,locomotivesandfreightwagonsandkeeptheon-board
accumulatorschargedevenduringstops.Aswellasprovidingenergycost
savings,thephotovoltaictechnologiesoffertwosignificantenvironmental
advantagesovernon-renewableenergysources:Lessgreenhousegas
production:Thesolarpanelskeeptheaccumulatorsandauxiliarydevicesin
chargeduringthestops,withoutdependingonthemainelectricalsystem,witha
reductionof750gr.ofcarbondioxideperKWhofproducedenergycomparedto
thetraditionalsources.Longerlifespanoftheaccumulators:Theseare
subjectedtolesswearandtearasaresultofthephotovoltaiccellsbeingkept
constantlycharged.Longerlifecyclesmeanslesshazardouswaste.Theenergy
producedbythephotovoltaicpanelscanhavedifferentuses:theycanbeapplied
tothecoachesandlocomotivestochargetheaccumulatorsforthelightingand
airconditioning,andtheycanalsobeinstalledonthefreightcarriagesto
rechargetheaccumulatorssoastoensurethepowersupplyforelectriclocks
usedtoprotecttransportedgoods.Trialswerecarriedoutonthewholesystem
toassessitsvalidity.Energyyieldswereshowntohaveimprovedinthetesting
periodofJunetoSeptember2004fromthesameperiodofthepreviousyear,
duetothestreamliningofthecapturingmechanism.Theconvertertransforms
theelectricenergygeneratedbythePVpanelsintoelectricenergysuitableforthe
rechargingofthebatteries.FortheobservationperiodJuly2003toOctober
2005,theenergyusedbytheprototypecoachwas1378.42kWh,resultingina
reductionof1033.82kgofCO2emissions.BetweenAugust2004andOctober
2005,theenergyusedbytheprototypelocomotiveswas159.3KWh(sufficientto
keeptheon-boardaccumulatorsgoing),withaCO2emissionsreductionof
119.95kg;theenergyusedbytheprototypefreightwagonswas540KWh
(sufficientfortheelectricallocks),resultinginareductionof405.51kgofCO2
emissions.Theseresultsweredisseminatedtovariousinterestgroupsanda
databasewasbuiltup. This project has been awarded the title of "Best of the Best"
from a shortlist of 22 "Best" LIFE Environment projects in 2006-2007

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Environmentalissuesaddressed:

Themes

Services&Commerce-Transportation-Storage
Energy-Supply

Keywords
Keywords

railtransportrenewableenergy

Natura2000sites

Notapplicable

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Beneficiaries:

Coordinator TRENITALIA
Typeoforganisation Publicenterprise
Description Trenitaliaisthetransportcompanyofthe
GruppoFerroviedelloStato,Italy'sstate
railwaysgroup.
Partners None

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Administrativedata:

Projectreference LIFE02ENV/IT/000064
Duration 01-NOV-2002to31-OCT-2005
Totalbudget 1,252,972.00
EUcontribution 616,111.00
Projectlocation Lazio(Italia)

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Readmore:

Projectwebsite Webpageofthebeneficiary
Projectwebsite Websiteofthebeneficiary
Publication:Laymanreport Title:LaymanreportYear:2004Noofpages:18
Videofeature Title:Videofeatureoftheproject(15MB)
Videolink "Trenitalia:progettoPVTrain"(5')

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ProjectdescriptionEnvironmentalissuesBeneficiariesAdministrativedata
 ProjectdescriptionEnvironmentalissuesBeneficiariesAdministrativedata
R e a d m o r e