Car parks, privileged spaces for renewable energies

In the context of the energy transition and the increase in electricity prices, photovoltaic parking shades emerging as an attractive solution for businesses.

Since 2021, the Climate and Resilience Law requires new outdoor parking lots of more than 500 m² to integrate shade structures producing renewable energies. At the same time, the APER Law (of 2023) extends these obligations to already existing parks of more than 1.500 m². These new measures aim to accelerate national solar production, from 18,6 TWh to 80 to 100 TWh by 2030. These obligations must be applied by July 1, 2028. In other words, within 4 years, the parking lots that we know will have completely changed their face.

How does this represent new opportunities for professionals?

The installation of photovoltaic equipment in parking lots allows several interesting operating schemes:

1. Self-consumption: The energy produced by the site allows the operator to benefit from carbon-free and locally produced energy, with a price shield guaranteed for 20 years.
2. Resale of energy on the network: This generates additional income for the owner of the car park while participating in improving the French energy production mix.
3. Self-consumption with resale of surplus.

In each case, the return on investment time is estimated between 10 and 15 years, depending on the possibilities of installing the shades and their orientation.

By equipping a car park with a renewable energy production system, such as photovoltaic solar shades, this offers dual functionality and adds value to this real estate asset. The exterior structure makes it possible to cover parking spaces, while producing solar energy.

The many advantages of this type of equipment:

• Maintain your CSR objectives and engage in an energy transition approach
• Invest sustainably
• Produce renewable energy and reduce your carbon footprint
• Bring your parking areas into compliance
• Enhance and optimize your real estate assets
• User comfort: protects from bad weather and reduces heat islands.
• Integrate charging stations for electric vehicles, powered by solar energy

For Clémence Bourcey, Ombrières START Sales Manager at Solstyce: “As a Group, with multi-business expertise on themes linked to the energy transition, we see this regulatory development as an opportunity to improve the energy management of buildings and the user experience more generally. Parking lots are already artificialized areas, poorly optimized, generating significant heat islands; We are working to find possible synergies between regulatory obligations and the future energy needs of our society. »

By way of example and illustration, Solstyce is developing its Ombrières START solution which consists of industrial standardization of the product and installation processes to ensure a project with minimal inconvenience for users and significant responsiveness linked to the stock management of the elements constituting the shade house.

For Clémence Bourcey: “These shade structures, developed by our experts with a view to this compliance, include pre-sizing for the installation of electric vehicle charging stations. Thus, no further inconvenience caused in car parks when it is necessary to speed up the installation of terminals for electric vehicles. »

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.