The answer to UK businesses’ energy supply and decarbonisation challenges could be found in their own car parks by installing solar carports, according to new research from a renewable energy specialist.
Ongoing independent research commissioned by RenEnergy, a UK-based industry leader in renewable energy, has already found over half a million car parking spaces in the UK suitable for solar carports.
The investigation so far has uncovered the quantity of 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.
The organisation expects that hundreds of thousands more could be found as it continues its research across colleges, universities and sports stadiums. The project is set to uncover more across the entire UK and other commercial car parks such as train stations, service stations, supermarkets and retail parks.
Producing the same level of electricity in a year required to power the Houses of Parliament for 28 years, the ongoing research has found there is at least 1.3GW of solar that could be installed in the form of carports for businesses. Providing businesses across these sectors 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.
Avoiding complications with seeking permission from landowners or planning authorities often experienced with rooftop solar arrays, solar carports can see approval 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, a process that providers such as RenEnergy can support businesses with.
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 such as RenEnergy, 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.
The research has been launched as high energy costs and unpredictability of energy supply continue to pose challenges to business owners across the UK. RenEnergy is highlighting the opportunity for businesses with suitable car parks to take control of their energy supply and costs through solar carports.
The installation of 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. With so much energy potential from solar carports in the UK, rolling them out on British soil could be the answer to energy security concerns from government, businesses and the public.