About the possibilities of using the renewable energy power sources on railway transport

Several electrification systems based on renewable energy power sources (first of all, solar energy) are discussed in respect to their applicability to railway transport and, in particular, to suburban electric trains. Two systems are considered with basic technical details and economic estimation, both including the onboard bank of batteries and the photovoltaic converters (PVC) of solar energy for compensation of energy expenses, which could be positioned either on stations or on wagon's roofs. Sun‐tracking systems and their effect on the solar energy conversion efficiency are discussed in application to stationary and moving PVC platforms. An analysis made shows that introduction of the “green” systems discussed will not only have positive ecological impact, but also can bring a notable economical effect even with today's components, while it could be considerably greater with the usage of new PVCs, which are being developed by the authors. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.