Shopping centres, industries, stadiums and public facilities usually have large open-air car parks that occupy a huge surface area, which is not always well used. However, these places contain a key to promoting decarbonization: they have a lot of space to easily install solar panels that power chargers for electric cars, helping to expand charging points—one of the shortcomings of the sector. France and Germany already have regulations that require the transformation of these enclaves with which they have multiplied the facilities, while Spain still lacks it – except in the Balearic Islands. However, some pioneering car parks are advancing this trend.
“Anthropized areas—transformed by humans—have an enormous strategic capacity to produce renewable energy. If we also use that energy to power chargers, we can multiply them quickly, as is already happening in other countries, which will result in the expansion of electric vehicles,” says Ladislao Montiel, from the Renovables Foundation. The entity just published a report which asks the Administrations to take advantage of the potential of these sites and modify the regulations to favor it. “In some rural regions there have been problems due to the installation of renewables, this new modality allows much more energy to be produced in urban environments where it will be consumed. Furthermore, the creation of solar deterrent parking would be a huge boost to decarbonize cities,” he continues.
According to the foundation’s account, France has approved a regulation that requires the installation of photovoltaic energy in areas of parking outdoors with an area of more than 1,500 square meters. Meanwhile, four German states have done the same in relation to newly created car parks, with different characteristics. In both cases, they have promoted chargers for public use, which already exceed 188,785 in Germany (in 2020 there were 42,000) and 177,000 in France (about 30,000 in 2020), according to the app Electromaps. For comparison, in Spain there are about 34,000 in operation, while another 9,000 are installed awaiting connection to the network.
The Ministry for the Ecological Transition points out that in Spain there is a decree that requires non-residential buildings to have a charging point for every 20 parking spaces, while the Technical Building Code requires installing solar panels in new buildings —if They have an associated parking lot, they could use that energy for charging points. However, there is no state regulation that combines both facets; Yes, there is in the Balearic Islands, which included this obligation for existing public parking spaces of more than 1,000 square meters, and for new private parking spaces that exceed this figure. In addition, Teresa Ribera’s department is processing aid of 220 million euros for the integration of renewables in anthropized infrastructures, from which this type of parking could benefit.
While waiting for a state standard, some pioneer parking lots are already being converted into solar. This is the case of the Móstoles Hospital. “Last year we installed a solar parking lot with five charging points for electric cars, whose production is 557 kilowatts peak (kWp) – the maximum energy potential. The energy that is not distributed to recharge the vehicles is derived and self-consumed in the internal functioning of the hospital in all its departments, from rooms, operating rooms, refrigeration, health technology…”, comments Javier Tejedor, head of the Department of the Environment. from HM Hospitals. From the terrace of the hospital center you can see the panels in full operation, giving shade to the cars and allowing several of them to recharge.
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“In Spain there are companies that develop combined solutions of photovoltaic installations and charging points for this type of locations, which will favor a national industry,” explains Arturo Pérez de Lucia, general director of the Business Association for the Development and Promotion of Mobility. Electric (Aedive). One of them is Sunparkwho precisely put the plaques in the Madrid hospital. “We have been manufacturers of canopy structures for 40 years and in 2019 we made the innovation of including solar panels and charging points in them. It is having a lot of success,” says Pablo Coll, director of the brand. “The companies that ask us for them the most, both in Spain and in Europe, are shopping centers, supermarkets, and also airports and train stations,” he adds.
Pioneering entities
For now, they have carried out installations in companies such as Schindler in Zaragoza (180 seats and four chargers); Cementos Molins in Barcelona (250 and 15); or Imbisa in Madrid (250 and 16). They have also done it in institutions such as the Carlos III Health Institute of Majadahonda (210 places and 10 porters); in the Port of Malaga (100 and 10) or at the Torrejón de Ardoz air base, in Madrid (550 and 30). Their system can be installed on some existing canopies, although older ones require a complete canopy replacement.
Other entities are committed to installing only solar panels – as is the case with some car parks managed by AENA or that of the Autonomous University of Madrid – or only charging points, but combining both generates great advantages. “Recent reports indicate that promoting parking lots with photovoltaic canopies could leave benefits of between 35,000 and 22,000 euros, both from the sale of surpluses and the savings on bills thanks to self-consumption, amortizing the investment in a period between four and eight years,” says Pérez. of Lucia. Montiel says: “Shopping centers can take advantage of the space they have available to install panels, offer the charging service to their users, take advantage of the energy to lower their electricity bill and, in addition, advertise themselves as greener and more sustainable.”
Little by little, public administrations are also joining in. Enairethe public company that manages air navigation in Spain, has installed solar parking lots in Seville and the Canary Islands, with 100 charging points and a total self-consumption production of 2.5 gigawatts (GW) in 2023. “In the next two years we will expand the photovoltaic plants in canopies in the control centers of Madrid and Barcelona, covering 80% of our facilities,” explains a spokesperson.
Meanwhile, the Pamplona City Council has transformed the parking the Cardenal Ilundáin public school with 2,736 solar panels – capable of producing 1.1 MW – and 16 charging points in its 240 places; The winning company has committed to creating an energy community in the neighborhood with part of that energy. The Zaragoza City Council is going to do something similar, which has launched a competition to install photovoltaic energy in four public parking areas in the city, which will be equipped with chargers (in a maximum of 5% of the spaces).
But there is still much to do. “The central government could promote these installations in the large parking lots at airports and train stations, and the communities could make regulations like the Balearic ones,” says Montiel. In any case, in the future we will see many more. Monse Lavilla, spokesperson for Soty Solaranticipates that his company is studying several projects with different football teams: “The League has received 2,000 million from the CVC fund and the clubs are going to take advantage of it to update their infrastructure – such as parking – making them more sustainable.”
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