One of Quest Renewables’ co-founders, Will Arnold, recently wrote an article for pv magazine that shares knowledge he has amassed about solar carport development during his 12+ years in the solar industry. Will says that “developers in the solar industry are increasingly looking at parking lots and parking garages as viable sites for solar deployment.”
Why are parking garages good candidates for solar?
- Garages are less likely to be redeveloped than surface lots, particularly in urban areas.
- Garages are often the best place for solar when co-located with office buildings with rooftops that can be small, have low load capacity, or are cluttered with HVAC.
- Solar on parking garages can enable micro grid for critical facility resiliency at hospital campuses and large government facilities.
- Solar on parking garages can reduce the capital cost of level 2 EV charging and provide renewable power to the chargers.
- Commercial buildings need parking density to meet city planning requirements of parking spaces per square footage.
- Solar atop newly constructed garages can be part of an overall LEED certification strategy or facilitate city approvals.
In the article, Will describes the three main structural cost drivers for solar garages in detail and shares how to score the structural viability of solar by type of parking garage. To read the article in its entirety, go to pv magazine.
Learn more about Quest Renewables’ QuadPod ™ parking garage canopies or contact us today and let us know how we can help with your next parking garage carport project.