6/19/23, 9:10 AM California's $100 billion electric bullet train will run entirely on solar power - Business News

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California’s $100 billion electric bullet train

will run entirely on solar power
by Shawn Johnson — June 12, 2023 in Innovation

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6/19/23, 9:10 AM California's $100 billion electric bullet train will run entirely on solar power - Business News

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The utility-scale clean power system is getting in the opening segment

of the country’s costliest infrastructure project.
Elon Musk unveiled his futuristic Hyperloop concept in 2013, taking a dig at California’s high-speed rail project, calling it “a bullet train that is
both the most expensive per mile and one of the slowest in the world.” A decade later, his fictional tube train remains science fiction, while
construction of the Golden State’s cash-strapped railway continues, with at least one feature the business billionaire should like: It’s going to
be solar-powered.
The California High-Speed ​Rail Authority is preparing to begin discussions with potential suppliers of a $200 million utility-scale system that it
will own and operate. It will include 552 acres of solar panels that generate 44 megawatts of electricity – enough for a city of 33,000 people –
and batteries to store 62 megawatt hours of electricity. The system must be strong enough to provide a powerful electrical burst to propel
trains at 220 miles per hour through the 171-mile Central Valley segment of the railway, withstand intense heat and carry passengers—even if
There is a blackout at the local utilities.
Work could start as early as 2026 to ensure it is ready for electric trains by 2030, the targeted opening date for the initial section of the
railway, told Margaret Sederoth, the authority’s director of planning and sustainability. forbes, (The connections to San Francisco and LA
were not finalized at the time due to funding challenges.)
“California is a great place to do renewable energy. It has the best solar installations in the United States,” he said. “We already have some
very well-configured parcels in our right-of-way portfolio that allow us to generate renewable energy on the scale required to supply the
electricity needed to fully offset our load. allow.”

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Photovoltaic panels at North Palm Springs 1 Solar Field in Whitewater, California.

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6/19/23, 9:10 AM California's $100 billion electric bullet train will run entirely on solar power - Business News

The nation’s most ambitious and expensive infrastructure project, with an estimated cost of more than $100 billion to eventually connect Los
Angeles and San Francisco in a 422-mile system, was initially intended as an environmentally friendly alternative to highways or expanding
airport capacity. As envisioned, both are sources of major carbon emissions. Construction of the initial section is moving slowly, though the
authority is seeking an additional $2.8 billion in funding from a 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law to help complete it. An additional $70 billion
to complete the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles segments has not yet been sourced. The cost of the renewable energy system is
already baked into the authority’s budget for the Central Valley section.
Brightline West, the proposed high-speed railway by private equity billionaire Wes Edens connecting Las Vegas to suburban LA, also intends
to rely on carbon-free electricity. Unlike California’s plan, it would buy power from operators of large desert solar fields.
“One of our high-speed trains is pulling somewhere in the region of 9 to 10 MW. It is a small town.
Ryan Scott, director of high-speed systems, Network Rail Consulting
“We basically do purchase agreements on RECs (Renewable Energy Certificates) to buy renewable energy. If you make that drive, because
you can’t take the train right now, between Vegas and LA, there’s nothing with big solar farms,” ​Edens pointed out. forbes, “It will be 100%
electrified. It will use renewable energy. It will actually be the greenest train in the world, not a decoration.
Given that no major high-speed railway is currently powered entirely by renewable energy, this could become true if the $12 billion Brightline
West project opens on schedule by 2028. ,

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“Nobody’s done it, but everyone is starting to think about” relying entirely on renewable energy, said Ryan Scott, director of high-speed
systems for Network Rail Consulting, a UK The firm that is helping California plan its power system.
“The Germans have just started doing some tests and some have happened in England. We’ve been involved with all of those on a smaller
scale,” he said. “In part, that’s because the amount of renewables in California is far greater than those other regions. Furthermore, the
regulation of the electricity market in Europe allows you to buy cheap electricity. So it’s not the same driver.
He hopes that a major industrial group like Siemens or Alstom could eventually supply the energy system. The two companies also hope to
build high-speed trains for both California and Brightline West.
The California Railway is being built on land that the state bought in its main agricultural center, on viaducts built over farms and former
commercial properties between Merced and Bakersfield. It will pass through areas where significant, very expensive upgrades to the existing
power grid would be required to be able to meet the power needs of the bullet train.
“One of our high-speed trains is pulling somewhere in the region of 9 to 10 MW. It’s a small town,” Scott said. “So you go, ‘What do you want
to do? Do you want to pay to upgrade the utility’s network to make it stronger or do you want to build your own solution?’ That business was
closed.
Building the power system has a high upfront cost, but according to the state authority there should be huge savings in the coming years. It
is estimated to cut electricity costs by up to 75% annually, saving approximately $14 million annually. It will connect to the grid as a “behind
the meter” system, meaning it will draw power from the grid periodically but also send surplus energy back.

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Contractors work on the Cedar Viaduct during construction of the high-speed rail project in Fresno County, California.
© 2022 Bloomberg Finance LP
“At times of peak grid stress, we will be able to use some of the electricity from the batteries to feed back to the grid – to serve like a power
plant in a way,” Sedroth said.
Brightline West, which has applied for $3.75 billion in federal grant funding, intends to run its trains primarily on tracks in the median of US I-
15 and has surplus land to build its own solar fields will not have the same amount. Still, founder Edens will heavily promote the project’s
characterization as an ESG, or environmental, social and governance, investment as he works to raise an additional $8 billion or $9 billion for
its construction.
“I’m pretty confident that this will really check the box with those who want to do well on the ESG front.”
Wes Edens, Founder and President of Brightline
“I’m pretty confident that it will really check boxes with those that are doing well on the ESG front, or just general corporate citizenship, but
also doing good investing,” he said. “I think it’s the nexus of those two lines.”
But while California is building an entirely new clean energy system to fuel its bullet trains, the state has yet to explore ways to monetize it
through carbon credits. It appears that Edens, with a background in creative financing for large projects, has a lot to do with Brightlight West.
This is also something Musk has excelled at. Tesla is a leader in selling California’s “zero-emissions vehicles” and other regulatory credits its
electric cars earn to other automakers, essentially amounting to $7.7 billion in free money since 2008.
“It’s a really interesting concept to continue to explore. We’ve looked at this first and foremost as a cost reduction strategy or a mitigation
strategy,” Sedroth said. “Brian Kelly, CEO of the HSR Authority, wants us to explore every available opportunity for the system, whether it’s as
a policy tool or a renewable energy tool for California, but also make sure it’s as cost-effective as possible. “

more than forbes

More from Forbes US prepares to pour billions into high-speed rail More from Forbes’ ‘The Greenest Bullet Train in the World’ by Alan
Ohsman: Wes Edens Kickstarting US High-Speed ​Rail with a Vegas-LA Line Wants By AlanOhsman  Forbes California Bullet Train Gets $4.2
Billion Green Light For First Phase While Big Challenges Loom By Alan Ohsman
Source: www.forbes.com

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