© via CNET Solar panels and parking can be a great combination. Steve Bruhl/Getty ImagesIf you park in one of the many MSU campus suburban parking lots, you will be assigned a covered parking space. Because each parking space is protected from the sun, snow and rain by solar panels . They are mounted above the lot on a steel frame high enough to park the rear wheels on the RVs below. In addition to providing a more pleasant parking experience, universities also get cheap and clean solar energy from solar panels .
It's best not to scrape snow from your car in 20-degree weather. I know this because I was a commuter student at Michigan State for two years and happily used the covered parking.
So why don't all car parks have solar panels? To avoid the worst consequences of global warming, we urgently need to move away from fossil fuels . And with inclement weather becoming more common, shade and protection from the driving rain will be welcome for cyclists.
Every solar panel installation has a different level of energy and finance . Roof-mounted and ground-mounted solar panels produce different products depending on the latitude and angle of installation. Parking lot owners may choose not to use solar panels for cost and convenience reasons. Still, some solar energy experts believe that growing interest in sustainability (90 percent of Americans want more solar parks by 2020, according to Pew) means more solar parks are headed our way.
The best solar companies of 2023: check them out on Cnet.Advertiser Disclosure: A CNET partner, SaveOnEnergy, can help you find the right energy for your home. The SaveOnEnergy Marketplace helps you find, compare, book and save on the right energy for your home, all for free. If you are interested in solar energy, answer a few questions to get a fixed quote from our solar consultants.
High cost of diesel
For many homeowners, installing solar panels saves money in the long run. The same goes for large organizations.
The State of Michigan estimates that parking plates (in more than five places) will save $10 million over 25 years. The university receives its electricity from the panels through a power purchase agreement , which means that the university does not own the panels but agrees to purchase the electricity. Save cheaper energy from alternative sources.
on the side
While the economics of PPA are slightly different, for a company that covers construction costs, building elsewhere is a better deal.
"Cars are 40 percent more expensive than ground-mounted systems," said Innovates Solar, a researcher and research scientist at the Michigan-based systems builder. They cost more because of the extra materials (longer, stronger structures are needed to keep them off the ground), more labor (they need to take longer to build), and higher engineering costs, he says.
If your only motivation is to get solar energy as cheap as possible, a garage isn't the way to go. But there are other reasons organizations use solar energy in their parking lot.
The Michigan State garage has won national and state awards and accounts for 5 percent of campus energy use, a contribution to the university's sustainability goals, and great publicity. Some of the people I interviewed for this story suggested that college would be more attractive to incoming students, although the impact of school sustainability on student choice is difficult to ascertain.
Recent research shows that 65% of consumers (not necessarily students) say they are interested in buying sustainable or organic products, but only 26%. While your shopping habits and college choices may seem like apples and oranges, garage solar panels and green shopping can turn out to be perfectly apples and oranges.
Electric cars are on the rise.
The threat of climate change requires a rapid reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. While many problems require systemic solutions, people are adopting green technologies like rooftop solar panels and electric cars at a rapid pace. In addition to the environmental benefits, solar panels and electric vehicles save you money over time. Stores with large parking spaces can financially benefit from both.
Joshua Pearce, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Western University in London, Ontario, said a solar garage the size of an average Walmart parking lot would generate 3.1 megawatts.
Pearce demonstrates the feasibility of a solar garage in a department store and picks it up from Walmart everywhere. The chain is committed to sustainability and is one of the leaders in solar energy installations. Wal-Mart said it has 600 renewable energy plants, but did not share information about planned or installed solar garage shades. No fewer than seven are said to have been installed in the state of California.
Also Read : Are electric cars better for the environment?
While it's hard to tell whether a person will choose a tent due to the large and visible environmental message of the solar array, will you be out in the sun, snow or rain?
While his research doesn't directly address this question, Peirce can be astute. He believes the store could attract more customers by offering shoppers discounts or free payments for electric cars.
According to Pearce's research, the average Walmart parking lot could hold about 100 electric car chargers when covered with solar panels.
"I think if they gave you a place to park under a roof that charges an electric car, you'd spend more time in the shop because you'd be waiting for the battery to recharge," she said. "Even if you buy just one item, it's a net profit for the store."
Pearce wants to investigate this allegation soon, seeing what happens when the allegation is actually filed. Is there parking for non electric cars? Do people spend a lot of time in shops?
With free delivery at Walmart (or any other department store) in the future, shoppers will be able to carry more groceries in their car than they do on the road, not just groceries. According to a study by Pierce and his colleagues, 90 percent of Americans live within 15 miles of a Walmart, and an hour's shopping trip can save a 20-mile trip.
© via CNET Solar panels and electric vehicle charging can be a handy pairing. Simon Skafar/Getty Images"This means that for many EV consumers, the trip to Wal-Mart and back has no vehicle-related energy costs," the researchers wrote.
A world where shops charge their electric cars for free and make big bucks sounds great, but it's still hypothetical at this point.
In particular, there are obstacles to upgrading existing parking lots with solar panels. This includes parking lot closures during construction, which may be a more inconvenient option for stores, at least for a while.
Bowers of Innovations echoes Pearce's statement that if we look at installation costs alone, it now makes more sense to install on the roof of the store than open field solar.
But if I don't need more land, maybe my land is blocked for some reason, that's a way to park,” Pierce said.
There is an opportunity to change.
“We see creating a parking garage as a big dual-use story,” said Tyler Kanchuszewski, vice president of sustainability at Inovateus. Dual use refers to using land for two things, such as solar energy and agriculture.
According to a study published in the journal Nature, the largest solar power plants in the United States are mostly located outside cities. 51% is planted in desert, 33% in agricultural land and 2.5% in urban areas.
© Courtesy of CNET Solar panels provide shade and energy on sunny days. Bilanol/Getty ImagesLand use decisions are often risky. Ilunabarra raises cultural and environmental issues in the desert. Rural solar farms have attracted controversy. The Michigan facility has 45 acres of farmland in production.
On the other hand, parking lots are mostly good for one thing – parking – and umbrellas can enhance that experience.
Will the growing interest in sustainability make solar parking more common in the future?
"It's hard to predict," Kanchuszewski said. While more common in the Southwest, installing solar panels in parking lots is less common in the Midwest, where Invateus does most of its work. In regards to solar capacity, 95% of Innovate's installations are ground-mounted utility projects. Based on the number of projects, 65% are installed on the ground, 30% on the roof and about 5% (only three projects in total) are placed above the parking lots.
"It's not a very popular option," Powers said.
However, it can be permanent.
"I think it's very durable," Kanchuszewski said. "Instead of acquiring new land or additional property, why not take existing land and use solar energy?"
