L R AS Published on Monday 1 May 2023 - n° 443 - Categories:on request, Germany
Solar power plant generates electricity at 16.7 Hz for German railways
German state-owned railway company Deutsche Bahn (DB), in collaboration with solar and wind project developer Enparc, has commissioned a 41-megawatt solar power plant in Wasbek, northern Germany. For the first time, solar energy is being fed directly into the railways' power grid,
which, in Germany, has historically operated at 16.7 hertz (Hz) instead of the public grid frequency of 50 Hz. The direct feed avoids an additional conversion step.
The Wasbek solar power plant is expected to generate the equivalent of one day's electricity demand for the entire German rail network.
Deutsche Bahn currently covers more than 65% of its traction power with renewable energies; the aim is to reach 100% by 2038. However, this is not really electricity from renewables from its own power stations. A significant proportion is covered by so-called green electricity certificates, where only guarantees of origin are purchased in order to allocate the electricity. Some of the electricity used by the railways comes from coal!
Photon of 25 April 2023
