A perspective on solar energy-powered road and rail transportation in China

As essential pillars of passenger mobility and freight transport, road and rail transportation have experienced a rapid increase over the past years. This trend indicates an increase in energy consumption, especially electricity, due to higher energy efficiency and less carbon emission, but it exacerbates the contradiction between the power supply and demand. Nowadays, for additional power sources, increased solar power generation has been widely installed in their own available spaces for road and rail transportation, which has attracted a great deal of attention. This paper reviews the current status of solar power generation and its integrated application in the transport sector. Then, the photovoltaic generation potential of road and rail transportation in China are evaluated. Finally, further developments and perspectives of solar energy-powered road and rail transportation are presented, which not only contributes to lower-carbon and green transportation, but also promotes the development of renewable power generation for energy transformation. It is confirmed that solar energy-powered road and rail transportation is a promising approach for sustainable transportation with more renewable energy and less carbon emission.