Alongside wind and water energy, solar energy is one of the renewable energy sources in Deutsche Bahn's traction current mix. DB intends to continuously increase this share of green electricity. Today, renewable energy already accounts for 69.8% of DB's traction current mix (as of 2024). By 2030, it will be 80 percent. By 2038, 100% of all DB traction power is to come from renewable energy sources.

Solar energy for DB trains

In order to achieve this goal, DB is increasingly investing in the purchase of renewable power from solar systems. For example, the solar plant in Wasbek, Schleswig-Holstein, has been connected to the grid since April 2023 and feeds solar power directly into the German traction power network. The plant, which was commissioned together with the company ENERPARC, is around 40 hectares in size and is expected to supply around 38 gigawatt hours of renewable power per year.

In Weimar, Thuringia, solar energy has been fed directly into the overhead line since August 2025. To do this, the electricity is first converted into the traction current frequency of 16.7 Hz using so-called inverters. Trains can travel around 300,000 kilometers with the power from this photovoltaic park alone.

DB obtains even more renewable power from two long-term electricity supply contracts with Blue Elephant Energy GmbH. The so-called Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) were concluded for a total of around 2.5 terawatt hours (TWh) of solar power. The renewable power will be supplied by two large-scale solar parks in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, which will go into operation by mid-2027.

The solar plant in Wasbek feeds renewable power directly into the rail traction power network.

DB has also been drawing solar energy from the solar park in Gaarz near Plau am See in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania since 2021. The solar plant will supply renewable power for DB trains for over 30 years. And since the beginning of 2024, another 15 large solar parks – spread across the whole of Germany – have been supplying Deutsche Bahn with electricity from solar energy as part of six purchase agreements.

Roofs with a solar guarantee

Various roofs of DB buildings and facilities also capture the power of the sun and use it to produce clean electricity. Some of DB's workshops, stations and warehouses are currently equipped with solar panels. In Leipzig, for example, a photovoltaic system has been installed on a total of three parts of the ICE depot building. The electricity generated from the sun is stored on site in a second-life battery storage system made from disused electric car batteries and used when the depot's energy requirements are particularly high or the sun is not shining. The battery storage system and the PV system with an output of up to 250 kilowatts, can cover about a quarter of the ICE plant's electricity requirements. 

In addition, DB has installed high-performance solar systems at three depot locations in Nuremberg, Duisburg and Karlsruhe in 2023. The system in Nuremberg has already been connected to the grid and is the largest installed system with a maximum output of 340 kilowatts. It is expected to generate around 315 megawatt hours per year. The plants in Duisburg and Karlsruhe will soon go into operation. Many more solar plants are currently being planned and will be realized in the coming years.