LITHUANIA: A lineside noise barrier incorporating solar panels to generate electricity has been installed at Juodšiliai to the south of Vilnius.
The 22·2 kW solar power plant installed by infrastructure manager LTG Infra and SoliTek is expected to generate up to 14 MWh of per year, saving 420 tonnes of CO2 over its life cycle.
This is ‘an excellent example of how a part of the energy needed by railways can be produced in a sustainable way, making more efficient use of the area of noise barriers located next to railways’, said Minister of Transport & Communications Marius Skuodis.
LTG Infra’s Head of Strategy & Governance Ramūnas Dokšas said ’if the project proves to be successful, such solar power plants could be installed on many noise barriers. This would allow LTG Group as a whole to increase the sustainability of its operations by generating electricity from renewable energy sources and to reduce the amount of electricity it buys from external suppliers.’
