this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2026
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Europe

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[–] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 14 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

This just reads like a press release from Sun-Ways laundered through Euronews. The title reads "Italy could be the next country" but never mentions Italy a single time in the body of the article. The entire idea seems comically inefficient compared to easier, higher-yield places to put solar panels.

"Oh, we have to specially design these so they resist cracking and setting on fire, we can't nearly angle them properly for optimal efficiency, they sit on top of critical infrastructure, and they're as low to the ground as humanly possible? Perfect!"

[–] Eq0@literature.cafe 1 points 14 minutes ago

Italy is referenced in the very last paragraph, with a vague statement that they are talking about starting a test there too

[–] greyscale@lemmy.grey.ooo 14 points 1 hour ago (3 children)

One can't help but think that the solar panels 5 meters to the left out of the permanent way would be a lot more cost-effective and not require degreasing of the panels.

[–] Rhaedas@fedia.io 1 points 18 minutes ago

Is there buildup of grease? I didn't notice mention of it in the article. Being centered would give more exposure time vs. on the side where there might be trees. Having them above as a roof means more cost and structure to maintain, and accessibility issues. Maybe whatever they do get on them isn't a lot over time and is easier to clean than dealing with the other options.

[–] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

Are rail right-of-ways that wide though?

[–] greyscale@lemmy.grey.ooo 3 points 1 hour ago

HS2 is currently being built and you can see the worksite from space.

Thats a lot of workspace to fit solar after they move out.

Usually, the right of way, atleast in countries like the UK are quite wide. Some of that is because beeching pulled up the rails and there is just empty space now, some of that is because it just needs room to breath and put switchgear and control boxes.

[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 3 points 1 hour ago

Exactly.Theyre basically a roof with no moving parts. Why insist on installing them into the least hospitable place?