Parking lots are becoming as important as cars in climate change efforts
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It’s not just cars that will be going through energy transition in the years ahead. The parking lots where EVs recharge are a growing focus of construction efforts linked to climate change and carbon reduction.
A law approved in France last month requires that parking lots with 80 or more spaces be covered by solar panels within the next five years. For the biggest parking lots, those with more than 400 spaces, three years has been granted to have at least half of the parking lot’s surface area covered by solar.
Similar renewable energy design ideas are expected to gain more market share in the U.S. if not necessarily through a federal mandate.
“You’ll see a lot of the same stuff that you’re seeing in France and other countries, but it probably won’t necessarily play out the same way, in terms of federal action versus state action,” said Bill Abolt, vice president and lead of energy business for infrastructure consulting firm AECOM.
As local and state governments create mandates for renewable energy deployment, and the federal government takes an incentive-based approach to encourage climate technology through measures like the Inflation Reduction Act, major corporations are making their own commitments to solar power.
Target, Home Depot, Walmart and renewable energy
Target revamped one of its California stores with solar panel carports this spring. Home Depot is making efforts to have all of its stores use only renewable energy by 2030, while Walmart hopes to achieve this by 2040. These efforts won’t only come through producing renewable power on-site — procurement of renewable energy from utility-scale projects is among strategic options to meet these goals — but investing in solar power for store locations will become more prevalent.
“You have a lot of significant companies that have stepped up and made commitments to renewable energy and similar things with local governments and institutions. So, there’s no doubt that that level of investment has accelerated the development of technology, the deployment of more cost effective solar,” Abolt said.
The cost to install solar has dropped by more than 60% over the past decade, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
“There’s no doubt that the cost curve of solar gets better and better all the time and will continue to do so. Private business has done a lot, and we’re seeing even more private investment likely to happen as a result,” Abolt said.
Global commercial real estate company CBRE is partnering with renewable energy company Altus Power to work with clients including many Fortune 500 companies on solar projects.
“The topics that are top of mind for these corporations right now are decarbonization and energy efficiency and energy resiliency,” said Lars Norell, co-founder and co-CEO of Altus Power. “The No. 1 answer is building-sited clean energy,” he said.
Norell said it has now become possible for businesses of all sizes to consider renewable energy projects.
“Something that Walmart or IKEA or Amazon does, smaller family-owned businesses come to us and say ‘Should we do the same thing? Could our roof hold solar?’ The answer in almost all those cases is absolutely yes,” he said.
Public expectations and pressure from boards are key factors in why major corporations tend to act quicker than smaller companies when it comes to renewable energy. “In many cases, smaller companies don’t have quite such an audience that is expecting them to act, but many of them are acting sort of out of self-interest or because they would like to save money,” Norell said.
Solar power and commercial real estate
Solar carports and rooftop solar are the primary solar designs being adopted in the world of commercial real estate.
“We find that there is almost no debate around the wisdom of putting solar in a parking lot,” Norell said. “We believe that rooftop solar and carport solar are going to be easier for most communities to not only accept but embrace as a way to make clean energy.”
In recent years, an increasing number of solar projects have been built over commercial parking lots, and state governments have created incentives specifically for solar carports, including the 2018 Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target, and the Maryland Energy Administration Solar Canopy Grant Program, which provides funding to incentivize the use of solar carports and parking garages, with EV chargers included on site. It has provided up to $250,000 per solar carport project, creating an incentive for commercial businesses to invest in the projects.
“Increasing power prices and more government support, like in France where they mandated it, we think will mean that more parking lots are going to have carports,” Norell said.
Commercial retail centers and logistics buildings are prime targets for solar. Commercial retail centers, like grocery stores, consume higher levels of energy and often feature big parking lots. Logistics buildings like warehouses feature large rooftops that are optimal places to implement rooftop solar energy.
Altus Power forecasts that most buildings will have a solar power system over the next decade.
With the growing production and consumption of EVs — the International Energy Agency reported that U.S. electric car sales doubled in market share to 4.5% in 2021, reaching 630,000 EVs sold — solar-powered commercial businesses become more beneficial to consumers requiring EV chargers in parking lots.
The same will be the case for warehouses and distribution centers.
“Once we start getting good at having electrical-powered van fleets and trucks, all those trucks come to those logistical buildings, and that’s an excellent spot to put up fleet chargers, so that when the truck is busy … we take the opportunity to charge its electrical battery as well,” Norell said. “We can charge it with clean electricity because we’re making solar power on the roof, and that’s then going into the truck.”
Wind energy powered 20% of all electricity consumed in Europe (19% in the EU) in 2024, and the EU has set a goal to grow this share to 34% by 2030 and more than 50% by 2050.
To stay on track, the EU needs to install 30 GW of new wind farms annually, but it only managed 13 GW in 2024 – 11.4 GW onshore and 1.4 GW offshore. This is what’s holding the EU back from achieving its wind growth goals.
Three big problems holding Europe’s wind power back
Europe’s wind power growth is stalling for three key reasons:
Permitting delays. Many governments haven’t implemented the EU’s new permitting rules, making it harder for projects to move forward.
Grid connection bottlenecks. Over 500 GW(!) of potential wind capacity is stuck in grid connection queues.
Slow electrification. Europe’s economy isn’t electrifying fast enough to drive demand for more renewable energy.
Brussels-based trade association WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson summed it up: “The EU must urgently tackle all three problems. More wind means cheaper power, which means increased competitiveness.”
Permitting: Germany sets the standard
Permitting remains a massive roadblock, despite new EU rules aimed at streamlining the process. In fact, the situation worsened in 2024 in many countries. The bright spot? Germany. By embracing the EU’s permitting rules — with measures like binding deadlines and treating wind energy as a public interest priority — Germany approved a record 15 GW of new onshore wind in 2024. That’s seven times more than five years ago.
If other governments follow Germany’s lead, Europe could unlock the full potential of wind energy and bolster energy security.
Grid connections: a growing crisis
Access to the electricity grid is now the biggest obstacle to deploying wind energy. And it’s not just about long queues — Europe’s grid infrastructure isn’t expanding fast enough to keep up with demand. A glaring example is Germany’s 900-megawatt (MW) Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm. The turbines are ready to go, but the grid connection won’t be in place until 2026.
This issue isn’t isolated. Governments need to accelerate grid expansion if they’re serious about meeting renewable energy targets.
Electrification: falling behind
Wind energy’s growth is also tied to how quickly Europe electrifies its economy. Right now, electricity accounts for just 23% of the EU’s total energy consumption. That needs to jump to 61% by 2050 to align with climate goals. However, electrification efforts in key sectors like transportation, heating, and industry are moving too slowly.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has tasked Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen with crafting an Electrification Action Plan. That can’t come soon enough.
More wind farms awarded, but challenges persist
On a positive note, governments across Europe awarded a record 37 GW of new wind capacity (29 GW in the EU) in 2024. But without faster permitting, better grid connections, and increased electrification, these awards won’t translate into the clean energy-producing wind farms Europe desperately needs.
Investments and corporate interest
Investments in wind energy totaled €31 billion in 2024, financing 19 GW of new capacity. While onshore wind investments remained strong at €24 billion, offshore wind funding saw a dip. Final investment decisions for offshore projects remain challenging due to slow permitting and grid delays.
Corporate consumers continue to show strong interest in wind energy. Half of all electricity contracted under Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in 2024 was wind. Dedicated wind PPAs were 4 GW out of a total of 12 GW of renewable PPAs.
Read more: Renewables could meet almost half of global electricity demand by 2030 – IEA
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the official unveiling of the new Tesla Model Y, Mazda 6e, Aptera solar car production-intent, and more.
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The Chinese EV leader is launching a new flagship electric sedan. BYD’s new Han L EV leaked in China on Friday, revealing a potential Tesla Model S Plaid challenger.
What we know about the BYD Han L EV so far
We knew it was coming soon after BYD teased the Han L on social media a few days ago. Now, we are learning more about what to expect.
BYD’s new electric sedan appeared in China’s latest Ministry of Industry and Information Tech (MIIT) filing, a catalog of new vehicles that will soon be sold.
The filing revealed four versions, including two EV and two PHEV models. The Han L EV will be available in single- and dual-motor configurations. With a peak power of 580 kW (777 hp), the single-motor model packs more power than expected.
BYD’s dual-motor Han L gains an additional 230 kW (308 hp) front-mounted motor. As CnEVPost pointed out, the vehicle’s back has a “2.7S” badge, which suggests a 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) sprint time of just 2.7 seconds.
To put that into perspective, the Tesla Model S Plaid can accelerate from 0 to 100 km in 2.1 seconds. In China, the Model S Plaid starts at RBM 814,900, or over $110,000. Speaking of Tesla, the EV leader just unveiled its highly anticipated Model Y “Juniper” refresh in China on Thursday. It starts at RMB 263,500 ($36,000).
BYD already sells the Han EV in China, starting at around RMB 200,000. However, the single front motor, with a peak power of 180 kW, is much less potent than the “L” model. The Han EV can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.9 seconds.
At 5,050 mm long, 1,960 mm wide, and 1,505 mm tall with a wheelbase of 2,970 mm, BYD’s new Han L is roughly the size of the Model Y (4,970 mm long, 1,964 mm wide, 1,445 mm tall, wheelbase of 2,960 mm).
Other than that it will use a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) pack from BYD’s FinDreams unit, no other battery specs were revealed. Check back soon for the full rundown.
Source: CnEVPost, China MIIT
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