Renewable energy developers in the US are facing a bottleneck of epic proportions as they jockey for limited space on the nation’s aging network of long distance transmission lines. Building new transmission infrastructure would help, but a Sisyphus-level permitting process and a web of legal challenges await any who dare propose such a thing. If only someone could figure out how to leverage the nation’s copious rail freight resources for wind and solar energy transmission — oh, wait…
Renewable Energy On Rails, What A Concept
If you’re thinking some clever soul has proposed loading large batteries onto freight cars, stuffing them full of renewable energy, and shipping them out to energy-thirsty locations, run right out and buy yourself a cigar. The US startup SunTrain has been developing just such a concept.
SunTrain cites a 2023 transmission study from the US Department of Energy, which indicates that the US will need to double its current transmission network by 2040, to reach 115,000 gigawatt-hours. Meanwhile, the nation’s freight rail system already racks up more than 100,000 miles’ worth of capacity, and then some. “Running on almost 140,000 route miles, the U.S. freight rail network is widely considered the largest, safest, and most cost-efficient freight system in the world,” explains the US Department of Transportation.