Press Release: Research “only scratches surface” of untapped solar opportunity
ENERGY ‘OPEN GOAL’: New research “only scratches surface” of untapped solar energy opportunity in UK commercial car parks
New research has found at least half a million parking spaces belonging to businesses in the UK are suitable for installing 1.57GW of solar carports, producing the level of electricity required to meet the average yearly consumption of around 404,000 UK homes.
As a specialist in solar energy, we commissioned an ongoing academic research project which is in the process of evaluating car parks across the UK that are suitable for installing solar carports. These are solar PV canopies that sit above parking spaces allowing them to provide energy to the adjoining business as well as EV charging.
To put it into context, the 629,900 spaces identified so far could provide over 1,456 GWh of solar energy per year which is enough to supply electricity for to the Houses of Parliament for 32 years.
The ongoing investigation has uncovered this amount of suitable parking spaces across England and Scotland in hotels, golf clubs, hospitals, airports, amusement parks, sports centres and “only scratches the surface” of the opportunity.
We expect that hundreds of thousands more could be found as we continue current research across colleges, universities and sports stadiums. The project is set to uncover more across the entire UK and other commercial car parks such as train stations, service stations, supermarkets and retail parks.
We have shared the data to urge businesses to consider harnessing solar energy on their sites to not only take control of their energy usage and costs, but to also support the wider UK energy mix by reducing reliance on the grid.
Damian Baker, Managing Director of RenEnergy, said: “Energy security and cost has been a key concern for businesses and the general public for a number of years now. If we are going to improve our energy security across the UK and reduce carbon emissions in line with targets, we must look at all of the options available.
There is untapped power waiting for businesses across the UK in their car parks. They could harness enough energy to cover their electricity needs and even sell energy back to the grid, paying for their investment in the process. Without needing to gain planning or landowner permission, harnessing the power of solar carports is truly an energy open goal for businesses in the UK.”
With planning and landowner permission a key challenge for solar PV arrays, the solar carports can see approval within eight weeks under permitted development with prior approval. After this, approval for the District Network Operator (DNO) to secure grid capacity and export is required, a process that providers such as RenEnergy can support businesses with.
Making use of solar car ports on land already used for car parking means UK businesses could meet power generation needs and sell enough energy back to the grid to pay for the investment in the process. Entering into a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with a provider such as RenEnergy, businesses could also have solar carports installed completely free of charge and pay only for the energy they use at a lower rate than grid electricity.
The installation of solar panels on car parks is already mandatory in a number of European countries, including new car parks in Slovenia and France for all those with more than 80 spaces. With so much energy potential from solar carports in the UK, rolling them out on British soil could be the answer to energy security concerns from government, businesses and the public.
Damian adds: “We are not taking advantage of the solar energy opportunity that is right in front of us. If businesses are able to find their energy supply in their car park at no extra cost to them, we could see the equivalent energy for hundreds of thousands of homes not needing to come from the grid.”
For more information on the potential energy solar carports could provide your business, or to find out more about the research being conducted, click here.
-ENDS-
*Energy consumed by the Houses of Parliament have been calculated from the costs cited by the House of Commons here for financial year 2022-23 (44,231,176 kWh of electricity)
About RenEnergy:
Founded in Norwich in 2006, RenEnergy is an industry leader in renewable energy solutions, including solar carports, electric vehicle charging stations, and bespoke solar installations.
Working across the UK and South Africa, RenEnergy is a EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) accredited business with an experienced team of expert consultants, designers, procurement and installers. The company designs, installs, maintains and manages assets for businesses across a variety of industries including airports, hospitality and leisure, manufacturing and public sector.
The company provides customers with consultancy throughout the planning and building process, through to ensuring solutions are optimised to deliver return on investment. To meet the financial requirements of a variety of customers, RenEnergy offers leasing options in addition to capex investment and also provides the service RenFree, a long term power purchase agreement (PPA) that provides energy at lower cost than market rate, with free solar installation and asset management.
For more information:
RenEnergy@wpragency.co.uk
As seen in the press:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/2001671/solar-energy-car-ports-sunshine-uk