The World’s First Solar Railway

There is so much unused space that could be repurposed to generate clean electricity—parking lots, highway shoulders, rooftops, even balconies. And now, a Swiss startup has found one more: the empty strip of ground between railroad tracks.

In 2025, the company Sun-Ways laid 48 solar panels across a 100-meter stretch of active track in the village of Buttes, in the canton of Neuchâtel. In one year, the panels on the world’s first “solar railway” generated 16,000 kWh of electricity.

The trial was originally planned for three years, but the results were so positive after one that the company decided to make the installation permanent. Scale that up, and the numbers get interesting: if solar panels were placed on all of Switzerland’s 5,317 kilometres of track, they could generate 2% of Swiss yearly energy use.

Thinking globally, there are more than 1 million kilometres of railroad track, and Sun-Ways estimates that half of that track could be suitable for railway solar. The company now plans to expand this effort with projects in Italy and South Korea, and is in negotiations with Dutch, Chinese, Indian, and Singaporean partners to try the same approach in those countries.

This news item originally appeared in climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe’s Talking Climate newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the latest posts.