When I was in Arizona a few months ago, I was taken aback by a mall parking lot. A massive structure cast a shadow over the parked cars, and as I got closer, I realized that I was looking at a canopy of solar panels. The concept of having solar panels on top of parking lots made so much sense that I could not believe it was not more common practice in the US.
Installing solar panels over parking lots is beneficial for four major reasons:
Reduced land usage – “Solar fields” describe clusters of solar panels that are situated over old farmland (or worse, pre-existing natural spaces that get bulldozed to make way for solar panels). This environmentally degrading practice could be avoided by transferring the solar panels to spaces that are already occupied for pre-existing circumstances like parking.
Climate control – Have you ever touched the blacktop on a hot summer day? You probably were only able to keep your hand on the ground for a few seconds before getting burned. The phenomenon of darker surfaces heating up faster than lighter surfaces is known as the Albedo Effect. The Albedo Effect explains why city areas with lots of concrete are hotter than regions with green spaces. Solar panel canopies prevent the sun’s rays from heating up the ground surface, which keeps the surrounding air temperatures lower. Plus, if you hate climbing into a sweltering hot car in the summer, parking your car in the shade of a solar panel canopy could help keep you cool too.
Protection from the elements – When Mother Nature strikes, solar panel canopies could prove a helpful form of protection for your car against the elements. Whether it be hail damage in the summer, or sheets of snow in the winter, solar panels over parking lots could provide a nice barrier to your car when a parking garage isn’t available.
Clean energy! – Perhaps the most obvious explanation, solar panels canopies are a great source of renewable energy. Electric vehicles could charge in these parking stations with energy straight from the sun, and the rest of the solar panels’ clean earnings could be plugged back into the main power grid.
Good news, and even greater news:
The good news is that solar panels over parking lots are slowly making their way across the US – with appearances in California, Colorado, New York, New Jersey, Arizona, and more. We’re getting there, slowly but surely!
The even greater news is that some countries took the concept of solar panel canopies and completely ran with it. In 2022, France passed a bill that stated all parking lots over 16,000 square feet (approximately 80 parking spots) need to have 50% solar panel canopy coverage at minimum by 2028. French authorities estimate that this solar contribution could contribute around ten nuclear power plants worth of energy to the country’s power grid every year.
However, building solar panel canopies won’t be cheap. Parking lot owners will be responsible for installing these structures, but third-party investors for clean energy can assist with payments over time. To ensure that companies adhere to the new standards, after 2028 France will start imposing sanctions on parking lots that don’t comply with the new law. Every month, each parking space that is not covered will be fined 50 euros. So if you have a parking lot of 80 spaces, you would owe up to 480,000 euros to the government per year.
Solar panel parking is forging the way towards the future. If solar panel canopies towered over the world’s largest parking lots, the clean energy gains would be immense. In fact, Disneyland Paris is building the world’s largest solar canopy, which when finished will be large enough to collect enough energy to run a city of 17,400 inhabitants (approximately 36 GWh per year!).
What can you do? If you’re a business owner, an investor, or know one of the two, tell them about solar panel canopies! Sharing the information may prompt curiosity to look into it, and then implement it for the parking lot of their business!
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