I will be disappointed if they go for overhead power transmission they should go for buses with electrical storage batteries! There is even an option with Some EV Lithium ion batteries that can even be rechargable with solar panels mounted on the roof! Lets hope this time ur Nairobi Metropolitan and ministry of Transport do right as i 'll the first to discredit anything of old technology!
FlixBus places solar panels on buses. On board equipments are green-powered
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News/FlixBus places solar panels on buses. On board equipments are green-powered
Solar panels on buses.
FlixBus is launching a new project with the Dutch partner Kupers Touringcars. The solar panels installed on the bus are used to keep the battery charged:
all on board equipment is then powered by solar energy. The novelty has allowed a reduction of 7 per cent in diesel consumption. The bus equipped with solar panels currently runs twice a week
from Dortmund to London.
FlixBus is moving towards the
goal of being carbon-neutral by 2030. In 2018, the German group launched pilot projects with the world’s first electric long-distance buses in France and
Germany (although
the German pilot fell into a few technical problems), and last year
ran a test drive in the USA with brand new MCI electric coach. FlixBus is also working together with Freudenberg Sealing Technologies to prepare the future
introduction of hydrogen coaches in its long distance bus network.
Solar panels on FlixBus buses. 1.7 l of diesel saved per 100 km
FlixBus has installed solar panels on its green bus that runs from Dortmund, via Eindhoven, Antwerp, Bruges and Calais to London. The solar mats installed on the roof of the FlixBus, ultra-thin and lightweight, can communicate with the alternator in the bus through a charge controller placed in the FlixBus.
The new technology charges the bus battery mainly by solar energy,
relieving the alternator of the need to charge it using fuel, FlixBus points out. During the trial period, the group states, an average of
1.7 litres of diesel was saved per 100 km. With an average distance of 600 kilometres per day, this is a daily fuel saving of around 10 litres. The solar panels are expected to produce more energy during the summer.
Buses with solar panels: on board equipments are green-powered
The battery, in turn, supplies the power consumption of all the electronics on board. As usual with FlixBuses, the bus with solar panels is also equipped with USB ports, sockets, air conditioning, wi-fi and a media entertainment system. With the new technology,
all on board equipment is now powered by solar energy. In this way, FlixBus travellers can charge their mobile devices with renewable energy.
Specially developed solar panels for FlixBus buses
For this pilot project, FlixBus is working with TRAILAR, a British company that offers innovative transport solutions to reduce the environmental impact of commercial vehicles. The
flexible solar mats have been specially developed for use in the transport sector and are already being used for trucks and delivery services. FlixBus is the first to apply this technology to an international long-distance bus.
The technology is designed in such a way that the data, and therefore the yield, can be monitored. Circumstances can be optimised, ultimately reducing CO2 emissions as much as possible. Factors such as like the
route of the bus and the season influence the performance of the technology. The bus currently runs twice a week from Dortmund to London. From April, the bus will drive even more frequently and even daily during the holiday periods.
Kupers Touringars involved in the project
FlixBus further cooperates with local bus partners who operate the trips. One of these partners is
Kupers Touringscars, from Limburg. The solar panels are installed on one of their buses that runs daily from Dortmund, via Eindhoven, Antwerp and Bruges to London. Director Kupers Touringcars,
Bert Fonteijn says: “We are very proud that our double-decker is participating in this international pilot project to further reduce the environmental impact of long-distance bus journeys. We are pleased to be able to offer our travellers a tech-forward way of travelling”.
“We strive to travel as climate-neutrally as possible and make climate-friendly travel accessible to as many people as possible,” says
Jesper Vis, managing director of FlixBus Benelux. “This pilot project with solar panels is
just one in a series of initiatives and climate-friendly projects for our travellers. Based on the initial results, we will evaluate the extent to which we amplify this pilot to more buses or even all buses in the network”.
February 7th, 2020
Solar panels on buses. FlixBus is launching a new project with the Dutch partner Kupers Touringcars. The solar panels installed on the bus are used to keep
See this A bus with EVB that can store power that can go 100km before a recharge!
See what Volvo buses have charging points at bus stops where even a power empty battery can be exchanged with rechargable battery!
store solar energy in apartment block
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Parts/Volvo electric bus batteries used to store solar energy in apartment block
Volvo Buses has officially started a
test regarding the second life of electric bus batteries. Sustainable Bus already reported about the preparations
HERE. Today, 5th December, the company announced the official inauguration of what is probably Europe’s first ever energy warehouse using electric bus batteries.
In Gothenburg, in fact, batteries from electric bus route 55 are getting a second life for solar energy storage. It is part of a research project where Volvo Buses, Göteborg Energi, Riksbyggen and Johanneberg Science Park are working together to examine
electricity storage in apartment blocks that have their own electricity production via solar panels.
The project is starting…
Volvo Buses is taking part in a
research project whereby used electric bus batteries get a second lease of life as solar energy storage units. The research is taking place in
Riksbyggen’s Viva housing cooperative in Gothenburg, an apartment complex that aims to be Sweden’s most innovative and sustainable housing project – Positive Footprint Housing.
Tenants are just starting to move into their new apartments.
The research on energy storage in used bus batteries is done with
support from the EU project IRIS Smart Cities. IRIS is a Light House project, financed by EU HORIZON 2020.
Electric bus batteries to store electricity
In Viva housing cooperative,
Riksbyggen, Volvo, Göteborg Energi and Johanneberg Science Park have created a unique system whereby energy from solar panels on the roofs of the apartment buildings is stored in batteries that previously powered electric buses on route 55.
The energy warehouse is used to cut the property’s power consumption peaks, and to store or sell surplus solar energy.
It can also be used to buy and store electricity from the national grid when it is cheap and green, for later use. This improves the efficiency of housing association Viva’s own energy system as well as that of the city’s power grid.
The battery warehouse consists of
14 used lithium-ion electric bus batteries. They are installed in a battery chamber and linked together to create a
200 kWh storage pack. This energy warehouse allows a larger proportion of Viva’s solar-generated electricity to be used for the housing association’s power needs.
Do electric bus batteries have good 2nd life potential?
“We know that
electric bus batteries have good potential for other applications such as energy storage after the end of their life in public transport. What we are examining here is exactly
how good that potential is.
Use of the batteries in an energy warehouse gives them an extended service life which in turn means better resource utilisation and less environmental impact.
Here at Volvo we are examining various possibilities for the reuse of bus batteries for energy storage, and Viva is one such example,” says Ylva
Olofsson, Project Coordinator at Volvo.
Electric buses for power storage?
The reuse and recycling of batteries is a key issue as increasing numbers of cities plan transition to electrically powered transport. Anyway, also the
use of electric bus batteries for storing energy when the bus is not in operation may lead to interesting developments.
This solution is being tested in the US, in NY State, where
five electric school buses by Lion Electric will be used as power storage over summer break: the energy utility Consolidated Edison contributed to the purchase of the buses in order to use them, in summer, for transfer power back to the grid during peak hours, when the energy demand is higher, like in the afternoons after people return from work and turn on air conditioning units.
December 5th, 2018