Energy Sources
Electricity that is generated offsite will power the bogie motors as well as the electric brakes, computers, lights, and horns that are part of each well car. Without electrification, the envisioned economies, as well as the environmental benefits, of an efficient railroad that is constantly in motion might otherwise be impossible to achieve. Offsite stationary generation will encourage competitive sourcing from multiple energy choices including wind, solar, hydro, geo-thermal, natural gas, nuclear fission, and even garbage. As the world proceeds toward a carbon-free environment, the mix of sources ultimately will result in the release of ever smaller quantities of greenhouse gasses. (While acknowledging that large-scale nuclear is currently out of favor, new and safer, small-scale nuclear plants, which are passively cooled and produced in factories, could be advantageously spaced along rail corridors and are currently under development. https://www.nuscalepower.com
Most electric power providers offer variable time-of-day pricing. The electricity that is generated will be less costly than the electricity produced by on-board, prime-mover-driven alternators. Stationary environmental remediation systems also are characteristically more efficient at removing pollutants than are the apparatuses that are now common on diesel locomotives. Significant further energy savings will be realized through the employment of regenerative braking, and through the elimination of liquid fuel transport and fueling operations that are essential to fossil-fueled conventional locomotive operation.
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