News | Energy Efficiency

http://www.newenergyworldnetwork.com/renewable-energy-news/by-technology/solar-by-technology-renewable-energy-news/enfinity-infrabel-public-private-partnership-powers-brussels-high-speed-rail-with-solar.html

Renewable energy company Enfinity has partnered with Belgian railway infrastructure operator Infrabel and the municipalities of Schoten and Brasschaat to develop solar power project on the high-speed rail tunnel along the E19 motorway in Belgium that will power trains.

The total investment budget for the project is €14.5m and the energy from it will be used in the Antwerp North-South junction including Antwerp Central Station to power conventional and high-speed trains on the route from Brussels to Amsterdam.
Due to be delivered by the end of the year, more than 16,000 solar panels will be installed on the roof of the rail tunnel that is primarily used by the high-speed train connecting Amsterdam and Paris through Brussels.
The tunnel covers a total length of 3.4km, with a surface area roughly equivalent to eight soccer fields.
A new company called SPS Fin has been created to manage and deliver the project as a result of the public-private partnership, which meets the request of the Schoten and Brasschaat municipalities to give the tunnel roof a useful function beyond its original purpose.
Enfinity, which has established a track record in the development, operation and financing of solar projects, has taken the unique structure of the solar project into account and plans to install a special support structure for the installation that will sit above the existing infrastructure.
‘In the months to come, a large technical team will install more than 16,000 monocrystalline solar panels on the roof with a special ballast tile structure, with no rooftop perforations required,’ said Patrick Decuyper, CEO of Enfinity Europe.
‘During the installation we naturally take into account roof vibrations that may occur when trains rush through the tunnel.’
Founded in Belgium with a turnover of €252m in 2009, Enfinity has a hold on the European market and has also expanded into North America and Asia.