Intercity railway distributed photovoltaic project synchronized to grid in Anhui
The distributed photovoltaic power-generation project along the Chuzhou-Nanjing intercity railway has been successfully synchronized to the grid in Chahe town, Lai'an county, Chuzhou city, Anhui province, representing a major breakthrough in the application of distributed PV within the province's rail sector.
As a vital transport corridor linking Chuzhou, Anhui province, to Nanjing, Jiangsu province, the railway's Chuzhou section was conceived with a "green and low-carbon" mandate in mind. The newly commissioned PV scheme is a core embodiment of this vision. With investment totaling 14.71 million yuan ($2.05 million), the project has an installed capacity of approximately 3.96 MW. Rather than a single concentrated array, the PV modules are strategically distributed across the roofs of eight stations, one control center and the depot — mounted on station rooftops and parking canopies — maximizing the use of underutilized spaces along the right-of-way. This approach achieves spatial co-location of transport and energy infrastructure without consuming additional land while efficiently converting solar resources.
Distributed PV is inherently clean and flexible, yet its integration into a rail environment presents technical challenges. Because generation nodes are scattered and individual outputs modest, a proliferation of small sources tied into the railway's dedicated network can trigger voltage fluctuations and harmonic interference, threatening both the PV systems and critical rail assets such as signaling and traction supplies. To overcome these hurdles, Canadian Solar New Energy Development Co Ltd (Suzhou) and State Grid Lai'an County Power Supply Company formed a joint task force. After extensive modelling and on-site testing, they devised a targeted solution: high-precision power-quality monitors installed at every point of interconnection to capture real-time parameter changes and provide rapid anomaly alerts; and advanced inverters with low-voltage ride-through and active harmonic-suppression capabilities to stabilize voltage and minimize grid disturbance, ensuring seamless synergy between the PV plant and the railway network.
Upon commissioning, the project will deliver significant economic and ecological benefits. It is projected to generate approximately 50 GWh annually, sufficient for station lighting, ventilation, control-center loads and depot operations along the Chuzhou section of the intercity line, with surplus power exported to the public grid for optimal utilization. Based on current tariffs and operating costs, the project is expected to reduce railway operating expenses by roughly 3.12 million yuan per year, while saving on about 16,700 tons of standard coal and cutting CO₂ emissions by approximately 49,800 tons — equivalent to planting 277,000 trees annually — thereby injecting new momentum into the Yangtze River Delta's dual-carbon goals.
To guarantee long-term stable operation, the company has established a dedicated O&M regime. Personnel will conduct periodic inspections of each distributed PV node, focusing on inverter health, grid-tie switches, metering systems and line insulation. They will also provide round-the-clock technical guidance to railway operators and assist in resolving any grid-integration issues. The partners also plan to leverage operational data to explore "PV + storage" and smart-energy-management models, driving rail-based energy systems toward greater efficiency, lower carbon intensity and higher intelligence, while propelling the integrated development of green transport and clean energy in Anhui.
The intercity railway distributed PV project is more than an innovative fusion of renewables and transport in Anhui, it offers a replicable model for the province's entire rail sector. As similar schemes are rolled out, Anhui's railways intend to accelerate toward net-zero operations, laying a solid foundation for a comprehensive, low-carbon transport system.
