Deutsche Bahn is the largest electricity consumer in Germany, operating its own power grid of nearly 8,000 kilometers in length. The project "PV4Rail" examined how this grid can be utilized for the feed-in of solar power. The consortium lead by Fraunhofer ISE developed and tested an inverter for the direct feed-in of photovoltaic power, analyzed the photovoltaic potential along the tracks, and conducted techno-economic studies of railway power PV systems. These could become an important component of the energy transition if regulatory and market disadvantages were addressed.
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