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Studies from Western University, published in Yale e360, in 2023 indicate that covering parking lots with solar energy in the United States could generate between 422 GW and 800 GW of capacity, multiplying the country’s current solar production several times. Walmart alone would generate 11.1 GW by covering its 3,571 parking lots with panels. France has already approved a law requiring large parking lots to install solar covers, while the US still treats the concept as a hypothesis.
Solar energy faces a dilemma worldwide: to grow, it needs land, but available lands compete with agriculture, housing, and natural ecosystems. In the United States, where hundreds of millions of parking spaces occupy vast surfaces of asphalt that serve no other purpose than to store cars, the solution may be literally under everyone’s eyes. Covering parking lots with solar panels transforms already paved land into clean energy plants without requiring deforestation, without competing with food production, and without the need for new transmission lines, as the energy is generated exactly where people consume it.
The concept is not theoretical. Cities like San Antonio, Texas, have already covered almost 500 municipal parking spaces with solar panels, integrating the cover with charging points for electric vehicles. In Connecticut, researchers estimated that solar covers over parking lots could supply 37% of the state’s electricity demand if fully implemented, and when combined with rooftop panels, the potential rises to 86% of total consumption. Even so, nationwide adoption in the United States remains timid, while France takes the lead with mandatory legislation.
800 GW hidden under hot asphalt
The numbers justifying solar energy in parking lots are impressive even for those accustomed to the scales of the energy transition. Estimates suggest that the United States could install between 422 GW and more than 800 GW of solar capacity just by covering surface parking lots, a volume that far exceeds the country’s current solar capacity, estimated between 70 and 100 GW. Each megawatt installed in a parking lot cover occupies only 0.8 hectares, compared to 2.8 to 4 hectares of a conventional ground solar park.
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This greater efficiency in land use is explained by the proximity to demand centers. Parking lots are located next to supermarkets, universities, hospitals, airports, and shopping centers, places where energy is consumed in large volumes. When solar energy is generated in the same location where it will be used, transmission losses disappear, and the need to build new high-voltage lines decreases. It is the principle of distributed generation applied to millions of square meters of asphalt that today only radiate heat.
Walmart: 11.1 GW in 3,571 parking lots
To gauge the potential of solar energy in parking lots, just look at a single company. Studies indicate that Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, would generate approximately 11.1 GW of solar capacity by covering its 3,571 parking lots in the United States. This volume exceeds the installed capacity of many hydroelectric plants and is equivalent to a significant portion of the current solar generation of the entire country, produced by a single private network of parking lots.
The example of Walmart illustrates how large retailers could become energy producers without acquiring a single additional square meter of land. Each store already has the paved land, access to the electrical grid, and internal demand for electricity for lighting, refrigeration, and air conditioning. The solar coverage would directly feed the store’s consumption, and the surplus could be injected into the local grid, generating additional revenue. For companies with thousands of units, the scale transforms solar energy in parking lots from an environmental project into a business strategy.
What France is already doing and the USA is still discussing
France became a global reference by passing a law on March 10, 2023, coming into effect on July 1, 2023, which requires large parking lots to install covers with solar panels. The first projections indicate that the measure could supply millions of French homes with clean energy, transforming asphalt surfaces into energy infrastructure without occupying agricultural land or natural areas. The legislation establishes deadlines and progressive targets that require owners of parking lots above a certain size to install solar coverage.
In the United States, solar energy in parking lots is still treated as a hypothetical scenario in most states. The structures of fiscal and regulatory incentives favor rooftop systems or ground-mounted solar parks, and most developers prefer open lands as they are cheaper and simpler to install. Without changes in public policies that equalize incentives or mandate installation, as France has done, large-scale adoption in the U.S. will depend on voluntary decisions by companies and municipalities.
The costs that hinder expansion
The main barrier to solar energy in parking lots is financial. The cost of a solar system for parking lots can be 50% or more higher than an equivalent system installed on the ground, depending on the terrain and the project. Solar canopies require heavy steel structures, elevated supports, deeper foundations, wiring embedded under the pavement, and specific engineering to withstand wind loads. Each of these elements adds cost to the project.
For developers who can choose between covering a parking lot or installing panels on a flat desert land, the math works out more easily in the desert. But this comparison ignores benefits that do not appear on the direct cost spreadsheet: solar energy in parking lots eliminates transmission losses, reduces the need for new power lines, offers shade that decreases air conditioning use in vehicles, and can be integrated with charging points for electric vehicles. When these indirect benefits are accounted for, the cost difference decreases considerably.
Shade, comfort, and electric vehicle charging
In addition to generating solar energy, canopies over parking lots offer practical benefits that affect the daily lives of millions of people. The shade keeps cars cooler during the summer, reducing the need for air conditioning in the first few minutes after the driver enters the vehicle, which in turn decreases fuel or battery consumption. In cities like Phoenix, Houston, or Miami, where summer temperatures turn uncovered parking lots into ovens, this protection has real value for the user.
Integration with charging infrastructure for electric vehicles is another benefit that multiplies the value of solar energy in parking lots. The solar canopy generates electricity exactly where cars park and charge, reducing the load on distribution transformers and eliminating the need to draw power from distant network points. For electric vehicle drivers, parking under a solar canopy means charging the car with clean energy generated right there, closing a cycle that makes sense both environmentally and economically.
From asphalt to energy: a transformation that depends on political decision
The parking lots in the United States occupy a vast area of asphalt that today only serves to store cars and radiate heat. Studies show that covering this surface with solar energy would generate between 422 GW and 800 GW of capacity, with Walmart alone contributing 11.1 GW, and cities like San Antonio already proving that the concept works in practice. France has legislated, the numbers support the idea, and the technology exists. What is lacking in the United States is the political decision to treat parking lots as energy infrastructure.
Do you think Brazil should adopt solar coverings in supermarket, shopping mall, and university parking lots? Tell us in the comments what you think about using existing asphalt to generate solar energy, if you believe the French law should serve as a model for other countries, and which benefit caught your attention the most: energy generation, shade for cars, or charging for electric vehicles. We want to hear your opinion.
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