Solar Parking Canopies for Shade and Energy
October 27 2008 / by jvarden
Category: Energy Year: 2008 Rating: 2
Not longer just places to stick your car, multiple parking lots and garages have been changed into powerful solar energy gatherers. While some install solar panels in rooftops, others prepare solar canopies, multiple panels that are lofted into the air with poles. These projects are just another example of the multiple possibilities for solar energy installations.
- University of California at San Diego : Installing a 164 kW solar canopy over a campus parking lot.
- Belmar in Lakewood, Colorado : Generating 1.75 MW of power between three parking garages.
- Google in Mountain View, California : Planting pole-mounted solar panels between parking lot vehicles to provide shade and gather the sun’s energy.
- New Jersey’s Amtrak Garages : Two 201 kW solar canopies to top parking garages that flank an AMTRAK center.
- California State University at Fresno : Won the 2008 state Energy Efficiency Partnership Best Practices award for their ten parking lot solar installations, generating more than 1.5 million kW hours of power in a year.
Image: [Great Valley Center Image Bank] Flickr CC
