Industry insight
Government urged to address ‘open goal’ for solar in car parks
A renewable energy expert is urging the government to take up the ‘open goal’ solar production opportunity that is waiting in commercial car parks across the UK
D
amian Baker, managing director of industry specialist in renewable energy solutions RenEnergy, has highlighted that the
mandating of solar car ports – canopies with solar PV panels that cover car parking spaces – would unlock significant energy production in land already used for car parking. Recent research commissioned by RenEnergy has
shown that there are over 546,000 suitable spaces – and counting – capable of producing over 1,263 GWh of energy a year – equivalent to the average annual usage of around 350,000 UK homes. The research is an ongoing project, with the organisation expecting hundreds of thousands more spaces to be uncovered as the investigation continues across the UK. The release of the research follows the government’s Clean Power 2030 action plan announcement, which highlights that it will assess the potential to drive the construction of solar canopies on outdoor carparks over a certain size through a call for evidence.
The installation of solar panels on car parks
is already mandatory in a number of European countries, including new car parks in Slovenia and France for all those with more than 80 spaces. With evidence already on the size of the UK opportunity, and similar mandates already in place across Europe, Baker is arguing a mandate on the installation of solar panels on carparks would provide a key source of energy security for the UK. Damian said: “The Sunshine Bill, which had
its second reading in parliament last week, is a welcome step in the right direction for solar energy production in this country. This bill will ensure that hundreds of thousands of new homes are built in line with our ambitious targets, thereby prioritising energy security and reducing energy bills. “There is, however, an open goal in solar energy
production in the UK that countries such as France and Slovenia are already capitalising on. If the government also mandates the installation of solar car ports in new car parks and car parks over
40 spaces, we could see significant renewable production on land that is already used for car parking. In addition to the energy production for the businesses they are connected to and potential for EV charging, the energy usage that could be relieved from the grid and even contribute to grid energy would be vast.” “The government’s clean energy ambition
through the Sunshine Bill and Clean Power 2030 is positive and we will continue to play our role in the development of renewable infrastructure to support this. The evidence we have already gathered and continue to compile should be ample to demonstrate that there is a massive opportunity waiting in car parks across the UK that we can act on immediately.”
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