LNER and Treeva have announced the installation of three wind turbines along the East Coast Main Line at Hitachi Rail’s Craigentinny depot.
Part of a proof-of-concept initiative, the turbines are intended to be used to capture energy from turbulent airflow and turn it into clean, renewable energy.
The initiative is the first of its kind within the UK
© LNER
The first of their kind to be installed and operated next to a UK main line railway; each turbine stands roughly six feet tall and was manufactured using upcycled materials.
Requiring no grid connection, the turbines have been designed to be deployed on unused land alongside railway tracks, capturing energy generated by passing trains. This energy will then be harnessed, measured, and used to power a number of devices, providing insight into how the technology could be rolled out across the wider British rail network.
A single turbine is purported to be capable of generating enough energy to power a third of a small station’s lighting needs, four CCTV cameras, or run two passenger information screens, with five turbines possessing the capacity to reduce emissions of more than 12,000 kilograms of CO2 each year – which is roughly the equivalent of planting 500 trees.
British company Treeva are graduates of the Future Labs innovation programme, with the scheme aiming to bring technology start-ups together with train operators in order to share ideas, expertise and develop new solutions to existing rail industry challenges.
The three turbines, named Sir Spins‑a‑Lot, AC Breezy, and Windiana Jones by LNER colleagues, are set to remain in place for at least six months.
Anjali Devadasan, CEO and co‑founder of Treeva, said:
Our goal is to transform the way transport infrastructure is powered. By capturing energy created by passing trains, we can turn unused land into a meaningful source of clean power and enable sustainable systems that pay for themselves within months.
We’re excited and optimistic about this next step in our work with LNER and the wider rail industry, and we look forward to seeing the turbine results and exploring future opportunities.
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