Gdynia will direct the sun’s energy to run its trolleybuses

Plus, this will feed the energy needs of municipal installations as well

The City of Gdynia (Poland) announced that it had signed an agreement for EU funding to cover the installation of photovoltaic panels on the roofs of three municipal facilities. What’s more, the energy produced from these installations will supply not only power to the local government units but also to the city’s trolleybuses.

More precisely, a total of PLN 2.5 million (about 533,000 euros) will go to the city, which is an amount that will cover 60% of the costs related to the installation of photovoltaics in three places. These are the roofs of the buildings of the Pomeranian Science and Technology Park Gdynia, the Social Welfare House and the Trolleybus Transport Company (PKT) in Gdynia.

Reducing the costs of the daily operations

Thanks to solar rays, using cells that are becoming more and more popular throughout the country, it will be possible to cover part of the current electricity consumption in the first two municipal units, reducing the costs of their daily operations.

In the case of the third facility, the PKT base, electricity will go directly to the catenary, which is used by trolleybuses moving on the streets of Gdynia - therefore, they will be partly powered by renewable energy sources. The installation will be installed on the shelters, which are part of the existing bus depot in Leszczynki.

“We take advantage of the conditions offered by the already existing urban facilities, developing their roofs and generating energy from a renewable source. In the case of powering the traction network, it is worth remembering that the modern fleet of Gdynia also uses e.g. solutions based on recuperation, i.e. partial recovery of energy from braking, so we are taking another step towards truly ecological public transport that does not pollute the air or consume excessive funds,” explained Katarzyna Gruszecka-Spychała, Vice Mayor of Gdynia for Economy.