Swiss solar rail project sharing know-how with France

Swiss solar energy start-up Sun-Ways has teamed up with French state-owned rail operator SNCF to partner in the world's first removable solar power plant installed on an active railway line. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox In April 2025, Sun-Ways installed solar panels between the tracks of a railway line near Buttes, canton Neuchâtel. in western Switzerland. The company has revealed it signed a collaboration agreement with SNCF in November, which will last until 2028. + How Switzerland is turning rail tracks into solar power plants This is not the first time solar energy has been integrated into rail infrastructure. Projects in Germany, Italy, France and Japan are testing solar panels between the rails. However, Buttes is the first removable system that can be placed on tracks that are open to traffic. + Power-generating railway tracks are coming down the line SNCF will study the impact of the Buttes installations to assess the feasibility of deploying ...