I’ve written about a number of innovative Dutch projects over the years, but one of the more interesting has to be the plan to power their rail network using wind energy.

The project is a partnership between energy company Eneco and the VIVENS cooperative group that comprises a range of transport companies. The deal will see Eneco supply 1.4TWh of energy to the rail network.

The energy will all come from a number of wind farms that are about to come on stream, with half of them in Holland and the remainder spread throughout Belgium and Scandinavia.

“A key objective is to avoid procuring energy from the limited existing number of sustainable energy projects in the Netherlands, thus promoting renewable growth both domestically and Europe-wide,” the team say.

A greener railway

The project is part of a wider plan to make transport in the Netherlands much greener than it currently is.

“Mobility is responsible for 20 percent of CO2 emissions in the Netherlands, and if we want to keep travelling, it is important that we do this without burdening the environment with CO2 and particulate matter,” the Eneco team say.

The railway will be 95% powered by green energy by 2017, and 100% by 2018. The project is notable both because it involves no government subsidies, so hopefully goes some way to showing that green energy can be economical, but it also shows that it can be a reliable source of power.

The network is responsible for roughly 1.2 million journeys a day, and they have a long history of making their operations carbon neutral. They have already reduced the energy consumption for each passenger/kilometer by 30% since 2005 through energy efficiency techniques.

Of course, the Dutch aren’t the only rail operators looking to become that bit greener. Earlier this year Indian Railways unveiled plans to run its network using solar panels, with installations across station platforms and on land running alongside the track.

That project will see the trains operated via the usual diesel engines, with the solar energy powering the lights and fans inside the carriages. So, whilst it isn’t quite as ambitious as the Dutch project, it’s another sign that transport companies are looking to become smarter and greener with their use of energy.