New Technology - Solar How Green Will Our Valleys Be? * A great deal is being written about the enormous investment being made by the Welsh Government into modernising and revitalising the railways in the South Wales Valleys. One aspect which does not appear to have been covered to any great extent, is the electrification of these Core Valley Lines, to bring them within the Welsh Government’s target of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. This article is based upon a report produced by the Rail Standards & Safety Board (RSSB) and their help and permission is gratefully acknowledged.
Electrification of the Valley Lines
Electrification will increase energy consumption and TfW has committed to using 100% renewable energy, 50% of which will be sourced in Wales. With this in mind, TfW has been working with a consortium of partners led by Riding Sunbeams (see the article on pp – Ed) on a feasibility study investigating the potential to use lineside renewables to power the overhead electrification in the Valleys. Following extensive research funded by the Rail Safety and Standards Board, and working in collaboration with TfW, Network Rail and the Energy Saving Trust Wales, Riding Sunbeams has found that solar traction power could supply at least one tenth of the energy needed to power trains on the UK’s DC electrified routes every year. It could also present a financial benefit for solar farms and rail operators right now as no public subsidy support is needed. Community energy, social impact, and the importance of working with lineside communities and rail users has been embedded in the heart of the project. The potential for this technology has huge implications for the UK and the world as we transition to a low carbon future.
The Green Valley Lines
The Green Valley Lines (GVL) is the name given to this project and refers to the feasibility assessment of direct-wire renewables and line-side storage to power the soon-to-be electrified Core Valley Lines (CVL) in Wales. The Core Valley Lines refers to an area of 85 route miles north of Cardiff Bay station. It includes all rail routes from: Cardiff Bay to Rhymney, Cwmbargoed and Coryton, and Cardiff Queen Street North Junction to Merthyr Tydfil, Hirwaun and Treherbert. TfW and KeolisAmey Wales are designing the electri*With apologies to Richard Llewellyn, author of “How Green Was My Valley”. 70
GREAT WESTERN STAR MAGAZINE
Spring 2021
fication of the Core Valley Lines, which they took over from Network Rail via an asset transfer on 28 March 2020. This report was drawn up by Alex Byford MEng MIET, (Chief Technology Officer, Riding Sunbeams), Dr Nathaniel Bottrell MEng, (Ricardo Energy & Environment), Ben Ferguson, (Energy Saving Trust Wales), Leo Murray, (Director of Innovation, Riding Sunbeams), Ernie Shelton BEng MSc CEng MIET, (Horizon Power & Energy), and Ben Whittle, (Energy Saving Trust Wales) with added input by Dr Dave Hewings (Network Rail), Graeme Brindle (KeolisAmey), and Natalie Rees (Transport for Wales).
The Aim of the Project
The Green Valley Lines (GVL) project has reviewed the use of renewable ‘green’ generation as part of the final design solution in the electrification of the Core Valley Lines (CVL) in Wales. The project has undertaken rigorous and iterative analysis across a range of workstreams to assess the engineering solutions, prospect for potential renewable energy sites, and identify the market conditions needed to finance viable, decarbonised power generation to the railway’s traction needs at a competitive and predictable cost.
Why the Core Valley Lines?
The Core Valley Lines were selected as a focus for this project due to the perceived design synergies that might arise where new rail electrification works and new sites for power generation were under parallel development. The Valleys are particularly rich in renewable energy resources. The project has found that injecting power on to the rail network does not add a significant design or cost burden to the electriNetwork Map of the Core Valley Lines, terminating at Treherbert, Aberdare, Merthyr Tydfil, Coryton, Rhymney and Ebbw Vale
