Solar Parking – When Parking Becomes Part of the Energy System

We often talk about the energy transition as a matter of how much renewable electricity we can produce. But perhaps we should just as often ask ourselves where we produce it—and how much value we can create from every area we already use.

The parking lot is a good example.

Outside offices, hotels, commercial areas, and industrial sites, there are large open spaces whose primary purpose is to park stationary cars. At the same time, the buildings behind them need electricity. More and more of these cars need to be charged. Companies are installing batteries and trying to manage power demands, electricity prices, and grid connection limitations.

Yet we often view parking and the energy system as two completely separate things.

We don't need to do that.

A solar carport can turn the parking area into an active part of the property’s energy system. The solar carport generates electricity right where it can actually be used, while the parking area retains its original function.

But the really interesting part begins when we add the next technology.

From a surface with one function to a surface with multiple functions

There is something appealingly simple about the idea of using the same surface multiple times.

The land has already been developed. The cars are supposed to be parked there already. The building next door is already using electricity.

By installing solar panels over the parking lot, we don't have to choose between parking and electricity generation. We get both.

The solar carport also provides weather protection, and with bifacial solar panels, it can even harness light reflected from the ground. But viewing it merely as yet another place to install solar panels misses a large part of the point.

The real value emerges when we start connecting the systems.

The car parked under the solar panels is no longer just something that needs a parking space. If it’s electric, it’s also a consumer of electricity.

The building a few meters away is a different one.

A battery can store electricity that isn't needed right when the solar panels are producing it.

And a smart energy management system can determine whether the electricity is best used at that moment in the building, the car, or the battery.

Parking → solar panels → electric car charging → battery → energy management.

Each new layer can make the previous layers more useful.

That doesn't mean every solar parking lot needs to include all of this technology. On the contrary, installing technology that doesn't address a real need is unlikely to improve an investment.

The point is to view the parking area as a platform where the right technologies can be combined based on the property's needs.

Electricity is most valuable when it is produced for a specific purpose

This raises a broader question about how we view solar energy.

The traditional way of thinking is pretty simple: more solar panels mean more solar power, and more solar power is better.

But for a commercial property, the amount of electricity generated is only part of the equation.

It also matters where and when the electricity is generated—and what we do with it.

Large-scale solar farms play an important role in the energy system and can generate large amounts of renewable electricity. A solar car park at a commercial property serves a different purpose.

Here, electricity can be generated just a few meters from where it will be used.

The solar panels above the parking lot can power the building while it is in operation. They can charge cars that are parked there during the workday anyway. Any excess energy can be stored in a battery for later use.

It is usually described as electricity generation behind the meter, or " behind-the-meter."

The difference is important.

Solar power used directly on-site can reduce the amount of electricity that needs to be purchased from the grid. Electricity that isn’t needed immediately can be stored or fed back into the grid. With a battery and smart control systems, the business gains additional flexibility in deciding when to use the electricity.

That’s why we think a more interesting question than “How many solar panels can we fit?” is:

“How much value can we create from every kilowatt-hour we produce?”

It's a different way of thinking about profitability.

More technology is not the goal. A better system is the goal.

It's easy to turn the energy transition into a list of technologies.

Solar cells. Batteries. Charging stations. Energy management.

Each has its own investment analysis and its own intended use. But within the same property, they also influence one another.

Charging electric cars creates a new demand for electricity. Solar panels can meet part of that demand locally. A battery can store electricity for use at a later time. Energy management can ensure that the car is not charged in a way that creates an unnecessary power spike at the same time the building is consuming a lot of energy.

That is why we think it is more interesting to view them as a system.

A small-scale Innoventum project demonstrates this principle in practice. It combined a solar carport with 15 bifacial solar panels, 6.3 kWp of installed capacity, a 10 kWh battery, and an electric vehicle charging station.

It's not a large-scale solar parking lot. And that's exactly the point.

The same principle also applies on a smaller scale: generate electricity where it is needed, use as much as possible on-site, and create flexibility for the electricity that is not used immediately.

In a commercial property, the system can then be scaled to the actual conditions of the business—the parking area, electricity consumption, number of vehicles, charging needs, and available grid capacity. A prime example is the installation that Innoventum carried out at Schneider Electric in Grenoble, France

That's much more interesting than starting with the question of how many panels will fit.

Maybe we should expect more from a parking lot

There is a broader principle behind the solar cell parking lot.

As land, network capacity, and energy become increasingly valuable resources, we should get better at asking: How many functions can our existing infrastructure fulfill?

Of course, a parking space still needs to be a good parking space.

But it can also provide shelter from the weather. The roof can generate electricity. The electricity can be used in the building or in the vehicles parked beneath it. A battery can store the electricity for later use. An energy management system can coordinate the various components so they work together.

The same square meter begins to create value in several ways.

This may be the most important change in how we should think about a solar-powered parking lot.

Not like a solar power system that just happens to be situated above a few cars.

Rather, as a place where real estate, energy, and mobility come together.

And when we start looking at the parking lot that way, the question is no longer just where we can fit more solar panels.

The question is:

How much more can we get out of the infrastructure we already have?