Solar-powered rail transportation in China: Potential, scenario, and case

Peng Cheng, Wenquan Liu, Jing Ma, Libo Zhang and Limin Jia

Energy, 2022, vol. 245, issue C

Abstract: China's railway has been experiencing rapid growth recently. The achievement of solar energy for the increasing electricity consumption in the rail sector attracts significant attentions. In this paper, the available solar energy on the covered land and trackside land in the rail itself is assessed for further utilization. The development of the railway electrifications is briefly presented. In the split- and co-phase AC electrifications, AC and DC microgrids are introduced to constitute the solar-powered rail transportation. This approach offers both the on-site access and the local consumption of the available solar energy alongside railways. Focused on the solar power regulation, an individual phase current control (IPCC) strategy is developed without extractions between sequences. This strategy can achieve a flexible current provision for both powering single-phase locomotives and feeding back to the three-phase grid. Finally, the solar-powered rail transportation contributes to a sustainable future of both the rail and solar energy sector and a win-win situation in both the economy and environment in China.

Keywords: Solar energy; Rail transportation; Potential assessment; Integrated electrification; Current regulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:245:y:2022:i:c:s0360544222001244

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2022.123221

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