Summary
Transportation networks and power grids are two major infrastructures sharing similar duties and routes yet have been planned and operated separately. Transport is the second-largest source of global GHG emissions, generating more than 8billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO₂e) into the atmosphere each year. Railway electrification has become a global trend. In the UK, rail consumes ~4TWh per year, approximately 1.2% of GB electricity usage.
Read more Read lessFurther decarbonization of 61.8% non-electrified railway routes would add another 3TWh of inflexible demand, which places additional pressure on already constrained electricity networks. This paper highlights the obvious coupling between rail and power grids, the urgent needs and great potential in a coordinated approach between transport (such as rail) and electricity system: in the UK, 8.3TWh renewable generation was curtailed in 2024. Railway energy hub is an innovative microgrid technology integrating local energy storage and renewable energies to meet the power demands of the rail network while simultaneously supporting grid operations. This paper presents the simulation of the first demonstration of this energy hub technology in a Southwest Scotland railway route. The paper demonstrates that the energy hub can effectively support power system operations by reducing voltage fluctuations along the traction routes during the daytime and preparing the energy hub to provide various power grid and railway services at night.
Additional informations
| Publication type | Session Materials |
|---|---|
| Reference | C1_12072_2026 |
| Publication year | |
| Publisher | CIGRE |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Study committees | |
| File size | 1 MB |
| Price for non member | 30 € |
| Price for member | 30 € |
Authors
YU James - CIGRE UK UK; LI Kang - Leeds University UK; SWEENEY Brian - Network Rail UK; DAVISON Ross - SP Energy Networks UK; ALVAREZ Agusti Egea - SP Energy Networks UK; ALLISON Ed - GE Vernova UK
Keywords
Railway decarbonization, energy hubs, whole system approach, wind curtailment reduction, modelling and control
