Thursday, February 09, 2017

Dutch Railway Electric trains now run on 100 % Wind energy

A single Dutch Railway line in Netherlands still runs on diesel fuel- but only until the end of this year.  

       The company, working in partnership with all other Dutch rail companies- including freight trains- had planned to source all of its electricity from wind by 2018, but after learning that extra wind power was available on the Dutch market, was able to purchase it earlier. 

              Rather than buying power from existing renewable energy plants, the rail company chose to support newly- built projects. The power is sent into the grid, and the company buys certificate for each megawatt- hour of energy that it uses. Wind power doesn't go directly to the trains, both because that,s not how the infrastructure is set up and because the trains need to pull from the grid for a constant source of power.

"If there is no wind you can run the trains,"says Boon. "There needs to be enough power on the grid always."

(Source: https://www.fastcoexist.com/3067087/madrid-plans-to-ban-cars-from-its-busiest-street)