Commercial Buildings, Parking Lots Offer Significant Potential for Solar Energy

In an article for Clean Technica, Steve Hanley describes the promise of rooftop solar panels on large commercial properties and parking lots using three examples. “The beauty part is that using those roofs to generate solar power turns the owners of those properties into prosumers — people who both produce and consume their own locally generated electricity,” Hanley explains. Commercial energy users can more accurately predict what electricity will cost them over the long term.

In Maryland, a $4.8 million state program offers funding for solar power installations on parking garages and lots, which double as weather shelters. The program encourages applications with dual uses, such as projects that support community microgrids and local businesses. In Wisconsin, a Ford dealer in Fond du Lac installed solar arrays on two facilities that can produce half of the buildings’ energy needs.

On the product side, a UK company has developed an ultra-lightweight solar power system that can be installed on rooftops not suited for heavier, traditional panels. According to Hanley, just 5 percent of warehouse roof space in the UK is covered with solar panels. “A recent analysis estimates the total area of unused rooftops in the UK is 165 million square meters (1.8 billion sq. ft), with a potential solar capacity of nearly 25 GW — roughly equivalent to 25 average size nuclear power plants.”