Ongoing independent research commissioned by RenEnergy has already found over half a million car parking spaces in the UK suitable for solar carports, which it says could produce in excess of 1.3 GW of solar.
As well as providing businesses with energy security and a source of renewable electricity, this would also free up energy from the electricity grid equivalent to over 350,000 homes.
The investigation has so far looked for suitable parking spaces across England and Scotland in hotels, golf clubs, hospitals, airports, amusement parks, sports centres and “only scratches the surface” of the opportunity.
RenEnergy expects that hundreds of thousands more could be found as it continues its research across the Uk at colleges, universities and sports stadiums. The project will also look at other commercial car park opportunities, such as train stations, service stations, supermarkets and retail parks.
‘Untapped power waiting for businesses’
The firm says that solar carports can be given the go ahead within eight weeks under permitted development with prior approval. After this, approval for the District Network Operator (DNO) to secure grid capacity and export is required.
The idea is that by providing a renewable energy supply in a quick timeframe, businesses can satisfy their entire power generation needs with land they already use for car parking and sell enough energy back to the grid to pay for the investment in the process. Entering into a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with a provider, businesses can also have solar carports installed completely free of charge and pay only for the energy they use at a lower rate than grid electricity.
RenEnergy managing director, Damian Baker, said: “Energy security and costs are ongoing concerns for businesses, and are likely to continue as the energy transition continues. To balance energy resilience and cost with reducing carbon emissions in line with targets, companies across the UK must look at all the options available.
“There is untapped power waiting for many businesses in their car parks and our research has only scratched the surface of defining the solar power generation opportunity from commercial carparks. They could harness enough energy to cover their electricity needs and even sell energy back to the grid, paying for their investment in the process.
“Without needing to gain planning or landowner permission, harnessing the power of solar carports is truly an energy open goal for businesses in the UK.”
Installing solar panels on car parks is already mandatory in a number of European countries, including Slovenia and France for those with more than 80 spaces.
Damian adds: “We are not taking advantage of the solar energy opportunity that is right in front of us in the UK. If businesses are able to make use of an energy supply in their car park at no extra cost to them, we could see the equivalent energy for hundreds of thousands of homes not needing to come from the grid.”
Image credit: RenEnergy