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Trams running on solar power

Direct current of the solar panels is transported directly to the overhead lines

A unique connection between the eco solar park ‘t Oor in the Dutch city The Hague and the power grid of regional operator HTM allows trams of Randstadrail 3 and 4 to run on solar power. There are 4,700 solar panels installed, producing over 1.4 Gigawatt hours per year for the trams. This kind of application of solar energy is an entirely new development.

“Thanks to an innovative method the direct current of the solar panels is transported directly to the overhead lines.”

Innovation: direct current directly to overhead lines

Strukton laid the 10 kV cables to connect the high voltage to the HTM grid. We also led the installation of the substation and were responsible for other cabling work.

Minimised energy loss

The high yield makes this project special. In normal situations, the direct current is converted into alternating current and fed into the public grid. Energy loss occurs due to the conversion and transportation of energy. We have applied an innovative method allowing the generated direct current of the solar panels to be transported directly to the overhead lines, which minimises the energy loss.

This is a breakthrough for a new standard in directly supplying sustainable electricity to rail networks.

4,700 solar panels

We have installed 4,700 solar panels between the tracks near Mariahoeve and Voorburg, producing over 1.4 Gigawatt hours per year. Strukton was leading in the project, connecting the customer, contractor and subcontractors.

This kind of application of solar energy is an entirely new development. The alignment of the requirements therefore took quite some effort.

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