Causes.com
| 11.11.22
French Senate Passes Law Requiring Solar Panels in All Large Parking Lots
Should more countries do the same?
What’s the story?
- The French Senate approved new legislation this week, requiring all parking lots with spaces for over 80 vehicles to be covered by solar panels.
- The proposed law, part of a larger renewable energy package, still needs to go through the Assemblée Nationale upper house.
- Starting in July 2023, new and existing parking lots with between 80 to 400 spaces will have five years to comply with the new law. Parking lots with over 400 spaces have only three years. At least half of the lot's surface area is required to be covered in solar panels.
- The government believes these additional solar panels could generate up to 11 gigawatts — equivalent to 10 nuclear reactors — which could power millions of homes. The administration is particularly targeting parking lots around commercial centers and train stations, which receive a lot of traffic.
- Senator Agnès Pannier-Runacher during the Senate debate said:
“We must not delay the implementation of the decarbonization of our economy.”
More green plans
- The new law is part of President Emmanuel Macron’s large-scale plans to invest in renewables. The Macron administration aims to multiply the amount of solar energy produced in the country by 10% and double the power from land-based wind farms.
- Macron guaranteed that any bill passed under these goals would directly benefit local communities. Other measures include building large solar farms on vacant land alongside highways, railways, and open agricultural lands.
- The country’s national rail service plans to install just under 200,000 square meters of solar panels in its 156 stations by 2025 and 1.1 million square meters by 2030 in order to reduce energy consumption by 25%.
- The government plans to build around 50 wind farms by 2050, much like the one offshore of Saint-Nazaire, which includes 80 turbines generating power to cover approximately 700,000 people. The administration is working to speed up the process of building wind farms like this one. The first installation is planned to be near the island of Oléron, off the coast of La Rochelle, while the second will likely be farther out at sea. The wind farms combined should produce enough electricity for 1.6 million people in France.
- On top of energy-based promises, Macron promised organic food production, decreased air pollution, and reduced single-use plastics. Before reelection early this year, he said:
“I hear the anxiety that exists in a lot of our young people. I see the young people, adolescents, who are fearful about the future of our planet…It’s up to us to react and up to us to take action.”
What do you think? Should more countries do the same?
-Jamie Epstein
(Photo credit: iStock/THEGIFT777)
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This is a great idea and exceptional dual use of space. Parking lot solar panels will generate energy and shade the vehicles underneath which will cut down the energy that the vehicles expend to cool the interior on sunny days.
It does make great shade for the cars and they could offer free charging for electric vehicles.
Sounds good to me. Solar, wind, runnhing water all are capable of creating electricity. Putting solar pannels on top of parking ramps would offer shade to the vehicles underneath so a person wouldn't have to burn themselves when touching or sitting in said vehicle. Anything is worth the try. Granted utility companies would lose their profit margin, but NOTHING LASTS FOREVER. Time to move on and care for the environment as well as the people.
The government should not require the construction of solar panels on these large parking lots, but should provide incentives, such as power buy-back options. The government is perfectly within its rights to make such a requirement on government property and contracts though.
According to a global inventory published in Nature (2021) utility scale solar facilities are located in deserts (51%), croplands (33%), grasslands and forests (10%), and urban areas (2.5%) because it’s 2-5X cheaper & easier but we are quickly tuning out of undeveloped land for this and need to expand into urban areas (parking lots, roof tops). Building on parking lots requires substantial structural steel with a substantial concrete base (a building minus the walls) but it’s a 4% return on a guaranteed infrastructure investment that will last for 25 years minimum which is a smart investment. It’s also possible to avoid the upfront cost using a 3rd party business or nonprofit paying for the installation under a power purchase agreement.
European countries like France have less undeveloped land so are ahead of the US in using urban sites like parking lots which has less challenges than rooftops where structural change is often needed to support the weight.
Parking lots and rooftops are abundant compared to undeveloped land, and located closer to consumers. For example a Walmart superstore has a 5-acre parking lot that can support canopy over with a 3-megawatt solar array which also keeps asphalt, cars & people from over heating according to a Western University study and which can be used to power the store, charge car batteries as customers shop, and any excess power produced can be sold for profit.
Other solar projects
(1) DC Metro transit contracted to solar canopies at 4 rail station parking lots with a projected capacity of 12.8 megawatts.
(2) Kennedy Airport is building a 12.3 megawatt canopy costing $56M
(3) Evansville (IN) Regional Airport already has 2 covered parking areas with 368 spaces that cost $6.5M that earned $310K in profits
(4) Rutgers University built a solar parking facilities with a 32-acre footprint, 8-megawatt output that was cash-positive from the get-go
(5) Yale School of Environment study for the state of CT found solar canopies on parking lots could provide a 1/3rd of Connecticut’s power, help meet the governor’s target of a zero-carbon electric sector by 2040
A report (2017) from Environment America, a Denver-based coalition of state environmental groups found utility and fossil fuel interests have undermined government policies that would encourage rooftop and parking lot solar. Some of the more prominent lobbying groups:
(1) Edison Electric Institute, representing publicly-owned utilities
(2) American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a lobbying group known for inserting right-wing language into state laws
(3) Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity
(4) Consumer Energy Alliance, a fossil fuel-and-utility front group
Another report (2018) found 10 states (AL, FL, GA, IN, LA, OK, TN, TX, VA, WI) have laws and regulations discouraging rooftop solar by making it difficult to install solar, connect it to the grid, prohibit a 3rd party from paying for the installation, lack a metering policy to sell unused power back to power companies operating the grid.
Nevada is an example of a state that turned around its solar power regulations when the Nevada power company pushed the public utility commission to approve measures penalizing rooftop solar but a voter backlash pushed the legislature to override the commission and restore pro-solar regulations. Voters could go a step further and push state and local governments to provide tax breaks for rooftop and parking solar.
https://environmentamerica.org/center/resources/blocking-rooftop-solar-2/
https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/energy/pdfs/ThrowingShade2018.pdf
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960148121000756
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03957-7
https://e360.yale.edu/features/putting-solar-panels-atop-parking-lots-a-green-energy-solution
The new geopolitical weapon is energy. Cheap energy is also a suitable tool to control state corruption.
For once I have to agree partially with Corrina. I worked for the power company for 41 years. We tested solar panels along with the rail road. The rail road was testing for rural rail crossings. We were testing for high voltage tower aircraft lighting. Solar panels worked well for that. For a home, it may supplement power usage. Windmills are very expensive and the longevity is not there. Let alone they are limited to wind, if no wind, no function, to much wind can't operate. Corrina is right, they require a gas or diesel generator to start them turning. They are building new ones that don't require a generator. The other issue is storage, so far they are limited on storage batteries big enough to store that Direct Current. Then it needs an inverter to change to AC. Then it needs to connect to an electrical grid. To maintain the grid with stable power we need a prime mover to generate AC electrical power. Even if you place the renewal power on line, you can back down the main generators but you can not power them down. If the wind were to stop or the clouds move in, you need to start generation immediately. It all sounds terrific, but it is pie in the sky, so far. The only folks making money on green energy products are the manufacturers and the installers. Manfuctures only warranty for five years, then they belong to whomever. I am not against conserving, but this may not be the answer. We still need reliable electrical power. My money would be in capturing carbon emissions, nuclear energy, low head bulb turbines. Storage battery manufacturers use a large amount of electrical power in manufacturing. Right along with solar panel manufacturing as well as wind turbines.
I do see these solar panels placed over parking lots, which double use of space. But sand and dust etches these panels reducing electrical output. Blades on turbines are a form of fiberglass and dust and sand etch them as well, not counting bird damage. They will need replacement. I will not put solar on our house. At 75 years old there is no return on the investment. Sorry to sound negative, but that is the way I see it. I believe we will keep working on it, and one day it may happen. My feeling toward EV is the same, with batteries. I would put more money into public transportation, electrify all trains, return electrical trolleys instead of buses, electrify large trucks with power lines available along highways, especially in cities and towns. That would be money well spent.
How will the power generated be used? Is it cost effective for the company to add this mandate on after the fact?
Why should the United States tell any country what they should do....pretty arrogant of us isn't it?
It's a good idea overall. The plan makes good use of available solace, provides electricity that might be used by those cars, and protects the cars and users from the harsher features of the environment.
"First Solar said Wednesday that it has selected Alabama as the site for its fourth U.S. solar panel manufacturing facility, after the Inflation Reduction Act and its incentives for domestic manufacturing encouraged companies to onshore production."
"First Solar will spend around $1.1 billion on the facility in North Alabama's Lawrence County. First Solar CEO Mark Widmar previously told CNBC that the Inflation Reduction Act was the key catalyst that led First Solar to choose the U.S. for its latest factory."
"The new facility will produce 3.5 gigawatts of solar modules annually by 2025. The company said the site will create more than 700 new jobs."
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/business/money-report/first-solar-selects-alabama-for-new-factory-as-inflation-reduction-act-prompts-domestic-manufacturing-boom/3035561/?amp=1
Of course! I listened to little Greta (the 11 year old). She was spot on and came with solutions. It is the old dumb people that refuse to move forward because they know that they will die before it occurs. (easy escape for our leadership). I am in that age group as well. I feel a tremendous responsibility for our kids, future generations and can not ignore it.
Swallow your pride and put the good idea to work here in "land of the free home of the brave"........oh and don't try to put a charge on it! It will pay for itself in more ways than you can ever count!
Makes sense to me. Put them up on private apartment lots too. Shelter and increased service of protection.
These measures will surely help!
Thank God an intelligent country exists!
Imagine all the power that could be generated with so many parking lot America has.
This is a good idea!
When properly implemented, installations that take advantage of renewable energy are a worthwhile investment. Parking lots in general tend to be problematic environmentally. They cover ground with dark, heat-absorbing/radiating asphalt, or heat-reflecting concrete, which can alter heat-management systems for nearby buildings; and the non-absorbant surfaces create the need for water management.
While solar panels would only partially alleviate these problems, putting the area to energy collection use could provice shelter from the weather for vehicles parked underneath them, and possibly increase safety for workers using those lots. With acres of otherwise unusable space it would be advantageous to adapt them to the collection of "free" energy.
and charging EVs should be included with the solar panels.
Energy from the sun is free, we should take advantage of it like they are doing in France.
We also need to work to reduce the weight of the solar collectors, as they'll are often too heavy for certain places.
This could be a good idea if implemented properly.
It's a no brainer. For those of you with no brains, that means you should convince your owners to invest in the future, not the past. Maybe if they spent less money trying to buy you, they could invest in good.
Arizona does it in small parking lots, apartments, medical offices, etc. as well as large arrays of many acres in one spot. It can and should be done for the welfare of our people because it will help to reduce the pace of climate change and lower the price of energy. Especially here in Maine.
Sounds like a good idea and using existing space.
Absolutely, U.S. should be doing this. It is not destroying a natural area. Sides of buildings and building roof tops should be put to this use. I even think it worth government financially aiding these projects.