New Rail Study

[nachoman]

Still, they're dreaming...and that is a good thing. I wonder whether the power requirements are just not clearly reported...or whether the scheme is not fully developed. If the entire track is lined with solar panels, I'd hate to see the Maintenance costs...

sounds like some science fiction fan grew up and had a dream. You are right, it really makes no sense to add the extra expense of solar panels when a modern diesel of electrified line would already be a huge savings over driving individual cars on I-10. Believe it or not, there are quite a few houses in arizona that are 100% off the grid. They rely on solar and wind turbines for their electricity, and water comes from either wells or cisterns. These houses are almost exclusively on the reservations or plateaus, where the temperatures are cooler and a/c is not needed. My co-workers installed a 3.5 kw photovoltaic system last year - and that is enough to supply almost all of their electrical needs. The problem is, they sell to the electric company during the day, and buy back at night (when the rates are lower). That means, they still have to pay miscellaneous taxes and hookup fees, so their electric bill is not zero. In their case, their July electric bill went from 250 to about 50 bucks. The return on their investment will be about 10 years, after a bunch of tax and utility rebates. Of course, if they sell their house, the PV system would be considered an asset and should increase the value of the house.