The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has launched a call for evidence to help increase the number of solar-powered carports in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
The likely result of this will be a mandate that car parks have a solar PV installation, as has been the case in France for some time.
Mandating solar on car parks has multiple benefits, which DESNZ is keen to emphasise. It says that a mandate would be a “better deal for motorists and businesses”.
The initiative would increase the UK’s solar generation capacity in line with targets for Clean Power 2030 (CP30), as well as offering electricity cost savings to the car park owner.
A solar carport often incorporates EV charging infrastructure, providing additional revenue and meaning only one grid connection agreement is needed.
Future of roads minister Lilian Greenwood explained: “We’re committed to ensuring electric car drivers are always close to a charger and can save money when making the switch.
“Today is another positive example of how we’re harnessing the net zero transition to give drivers more choice and help them get around with greater peace of mind.”
DESNZ cites estimates that supermarkets, retail parks and offices could save up to £28,000 annually by installing solar carports (this figure calculated for an 80-space car park—the size that France mandates must be covered by solar PV) if all of the electricity generated by the solar array was used onsite. The call for evidence seeks additional evidence of the benefits of such an initiative.
Earlier this year, Norwich-based RenEnergy, a solar carport provider, revealed that installing solar carports in more than half a million suitable parking spaces owned by UK businesses could generate 1.57GW of solar energy.
According to the research, the amount of suitable parking spaces it has identified across England and Scotland in golf clubs, hospitals, hotels, airports and sports centres “only scratches the surface”.
In 2019, Bently Motors installed a solar car park at its headquarters in Crewe. The site’s 10,000 solar PV modules have a capacity of 2.7MW and cover an area of 16,426m². Along with other installed solar arrays and 6.6MW of battery energy storage, the car park enables all of Bentley’s manufacturing operations to be powered by solar or certified green energy.
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