SEE SWNS STORY SWNAsolar
Today’s good news is from the Good News Network. Here it is in its entirety.
Switzerland Set to Roll Out Solar Panels Between Railway Tracks–A World First
Europe’s love of train travel is about to transform the continent’s solar energy production as the Swiss are set to begin installing solar panels in between train tracks.
The startup called Sun-Ways is waiting for a sign-off from the Federal Office of Transport to start installing their panels between the tracks near Buttes Station in the west of the country.
With the Swiss national railway network stretching beyond 2,000 miles of track, estimates place the amount of power generation at potentially beyond 1 terawatt hour or 2% of the entire gross annual consumption.
“There are over a million kilometers of railway lines in the world,” co-founder Baptiste Danichert tells SWI Swissinfo. “We believe that 50% of the world’s railways could be equipped with our system.”
A great way to incorporate solar panels into an economy is to find a place where flat ground is used by other industries, like canals, pastures, or warehousing.
Some companies use solar panels to generate power over agriculture, a strategy called “agrivoltaics” while India and California use their massive canal networks and hot sun to generate power while saving land.
Sun-Ways’ invention uses a specialized train car to lay down solar panels as if it were unrolling a carpet to save on labor costs.
At the moment, the idea is facing some pushback, including concern that the reflection of the sun off the panels could distract drivers, and that in areas with heavy snowfall, the panels would be a large waste of money.
Dust, debris, and damage from the vibrations of the rails could all potentially interfere the panels, but Sun-Ways have said they are taking all of this into account with the design and materials of the panels. For dust, they added that brushes could be attached to the undersides of trains to clean the panels as they drive by.
Their pilot at Buttes remains highly anticipated.
The good news here is that there are those trying unique and innovative ways to solve energy needs. Even if this system does not prove out, it is still worth pursuing. Today’s JohnKu talks about taking a chance. I hope you have a super weekend.
Try by John W.Howell ©2023
Even if it’s a risk,
Trying to solve big problems . . .
Beats ignoring them.
Fiction Favorites 
What a great idea. I pretty much guarantee the scrotes and wassocks of this world are already working out how to steal them.
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🤣
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I was wondering about the debris issue. A very cool idea. Too bad we don’t have the tech to absorb the energy from the moving train too.
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That would be cool. Energy from the wheels make it self sustaining. 😁
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I love this idea. Thanks for sharing, John. Have a great weekend.
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Have a great weekend too, Staci.
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Love to see people trying new things. It’s virtually unused land, so why not?
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That’s what I was thinking. Thanks.
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Sounds like a great idea to me! Happy Fri-Yay!
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Me too.
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Fantastic, why didn’t anyone think of this before?!
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🤔
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Wonderful idea. Like you said, it beats ignoring the problem. Have a great weekend, John!
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You as well, Teri. 😁
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This is a great idea! Enjoy your Friday, John.
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The same to you, Jill. 😊
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Creative thinking at its finest! Bravo to the engineers who designed these panels. Thanks, John, for another great post — and haiku. 😊
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Thank you, Gwen. Let’s hope it works
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Innovative idea. Hope it works out. Who knows what they will think of next.
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I know Right? Thanks, Michele.
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I’d be very interested to see how this innovative idea works in practice. Oftentimes, it takes trying something that doesn’t work to find something that does work.
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That is very true, Liz. It will be interesting to say the least.
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Indeed John, sometimes you have to go sideways in order to go forward. Even if this particular configuration doesn’t work to satisfaction, it might lead to a better solution down the road (or in this case down the tracks…).
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Yes it just might. Thanks, Bruce.
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Brilliant idea – might be better than those huge solar panel farms that kill birds.
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I think so too.
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Your haiku is spot on, John. And what an interesting idea this is! Let’s hope it works!
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Yes let’s hope it does.
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What an interesting concept. And I agree with your JohnKu. Trying and risking is better than doing nothing at all. Thanks for sharing!
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Thank you, Jan
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Your JohnKu says it best, John. Much better to try than do nothing.
Happy Friday!
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Thank you, Dale.
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🙂
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The best way to see if the problems can be solved is to test it in the field. Good story. I wish them luck.
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Me too.
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What a great idea 👍👍 If it’s a Swiss idea it’s decent.
Wishing you a happy weekend
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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Yes indeed.
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I wish them luck too!
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😁
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How amazing is this!
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Very
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Interesting! Switzerland gets its share of snow. Dust and grime accumulation would also reduce the panels’ absorption rate. I wonder if they have ideas about how to overcome those problems.
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I think that will need to be figured out in the pilot program
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At least they’re working on it. Like you said, it’s better than ignoring it.
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I think so, Tim. Thanks..
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I love new ideas that can make big changes 🙂
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I do too. Thanks, Denise.
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Your sentiment is just the attitude the world needs to have. The only way we ever truly fail, is when we don’t try…
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So true. Thanks, Pam.
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Wonderfully inventive, we need some of that. Thank you John’
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I agree, Holly.
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They do things over there.
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The pursuit really IS the thing in this instance Boss. If we don’t try these ideas out, then how in the hell are things ever going to get better. I applaud them and you for dishing up this great story about innovation .
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I so agree on trying to figure stuff out. Thanks, Marc.
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Another winner Boss
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Hi John, I’m so impressed by inventive minds, especially when they help solve big problems. It’s pretty humbling. Thanks for sharing this good news!
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My pleasure, Barbara. Thanks for the visit.
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Wonderful! I agree with your JohnKu. We have got to try!
🤗💋 🤗💋 🤗💋 🤗💋
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It is good you agree 🤗😘 🤗😘 🤗😘 🤗😘
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Copacetic with! your emojis
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Indeed. 😁
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Brilliant! Yes, we gotta try. Boston can’t even get their public transportation working properly.
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Try indeed.
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I couldn’t agree more, John! Ignoring problems just makes them get bigger as time goes by. We should all learn to recognize this.
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Good point, Traci. 😊
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[…] Favorites https://johnwhowell.com/2023/03/24/friday-johnku-aka-tgif-fri-yay-good-news-37/ Europe’s love of train travel is about to transform the continent’s solar energy production as […]
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Thank you for the link.
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Incredible solution, dear John! Who knows, perhaps, one day there will be even solar air-crafts! :-)🍻🍤🍤🍤
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They have one but it is not practical yet. Here’s a link to a story about an around the world flight by solar power. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/inside-first-solar-powered-flight-around-world-180968000/
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What an incredible idea!
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Isn’t it?
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Quite.
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😊
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