Post by account_disabled on Feb 26, 2024 23:11:04 GMT -5
The French solar plan
France has passed legislation that will require all car parks with more than spaces to be covered by solar panels. This is part of a broader program that will see solar panels occupy abandoned lots, vacant land next to roads and railways, as well as some farmland.
This is expected to add gigawatts to the French electricity grid equivalent to ten nuclear reactors .
Do the numbers add up? And should other countries do the same?
Several countries, most notably Germany , have already ordered developers of new buildings to incorporate renewable energy into their designs, such as roof-mounted solar panels, biomass boilers , heat pumps and wind turbines. The French policy would apply to new and existing car parks.
The average car parking space is approximately m by m , or m². Assuming an output of watts per m² , that equates to approximately kilowatts of power per bay. There would be more space above the side Brazil Mobile Number List walks and traffic lanes within the parking lot, but the solar panels would have to be kept far enough apart to prevent them from shading each other.
For an output of gigawatts, it would need to cover about million parking spaces. Are there that many in France who would qualify? The United Kingdom has between and million seats and million vehicles. France has a similarly sized fleet of million . So million spaces seems unlikely.
But the legislation covers a lot of urban land, not just parking lots. In theory, km² of French urban land (defined as any built-up area with more than , people) could provide gigawatts of solar energy.
It may seem like a lot, but it is only % of France's total urban area of , km² . Taking into account the difference in capacity factors (how much energy each source generates per year compared to its maximum theoretical output) between French nuclear power ( % ) and French solar power ( % ), km² of solar power They would each supply the same amount of energy per year in gigawatt-hours as those ten nuclear plants.
These panels only need to cover % of French urban land, or around % of France's total area . So it is possible, although the car parks will form a small part of the overall programme.
How to get to a parking lot near you
The UK and countries further north receive less sunlight per m² and the sun sits lower on their horizon, making the problem of shading on panels greater, although longer days in summer compensate for this. until a certain point.
Furthermore, although many car parks in southern Europe already have sunshades (allowing solar panels to be mounted on existing structures), this is rare in colder countries. As a result, it would probably be much easier to mount panels on the roofs of buildings than on surrounding parking lots. In some countries, where solar panels are not practical, other options, such as wind turbines, could well be viable alternatives.
Additionally, some car parks, especially those in city centres, are shaded for most of the day by nearby tall buildings. But there's no reason not to put panels on top of them.
France is likely to pursue this policy to ease its dependence on nuclear energy, which supplies % of the country's electricity. This arrangement works when demand is stable. It becomes a problem when, for example, a drought forces several plants to reduce their energy production or shut down . France is also adding several million electric cars and heat pumps to its network, which will need to take advantage of a variety of energy sources and storage options.
The UK also relies on gas for both electricity and heating. Creating a more diverse energy supply, much of which is directly connected to the same cars or homes that consume that energy, makes a lot of sense. But a strategy to unlock the green energy potential of empty spaces in towns and cities should start, not end, with car parks.
France has passed legislation that will require all car parks with more than spaces to be covered by solar panels. This is part of a broader program that will see solar panels occupy abandoned lots, vacant land next to roads and railways, as well as some farmland.
This is expected to add gigawatts to the French electricity grid equivalent to ten nuclear reactors .
Do the numbers add up? And should other countries do the same?
Several countries, most notably Germany , have already ordered developers of new buildings to incorporate renewable energy into their designs, such as roof-mounted solar panels, biomass boilers , heat pumps and wind turbines. The French policy would apply to new and existing car parks.
The average car parking space is approximately m by m , or m². Assuming an output of watts per m² , that equates to approximately kilowatts of power per bay. There would be more space above the side Brazil Mobile Number List walks and traffic lanes within the parking lot, but the solar panels would have to be kept far enough apart to prevent them from shading each other.
For an output of gigawatts, it would need to cover about million parking spaces. Are there that many in France who would qualify? The United Kingdom has between and million seats and million vehicles. France has a similarly sized fleet of million . So million spaces seems unlikely.
But the legislation covers a lot of urban land, not just parking lots. In theory, km² of French urban land (defined as any built-up area with more than , people) could provide gigawatts of solar energy.
It may seem like a lot, but it is only % of France's total urban area of , km² . Taking into account the difference in capacity factors (how much energy each source generates per year compared to its maximum theoretical output) between French nuclear power ( % ) and French solar power ( % ), km² of solar power They would each supply the same amount of energy per year in gigawatt-hours as those ten nuclear plants.
These panels only need to cover % of French urban land, or around % of France's total area . So it is possible, although the car parks will form a small part of the overall programme.
How to get to a parking lot near you
The UK and countries further north receive less sunlight per m² and the sun sits lower on their horizon, making the problem of shading on panels greater, although longer days in summer compensate for this. until a certain point.
Furthermore, although many car parks in southern Europe already have sunshades (allowing solar panels to be mounted on existing structures), this is rare in colder countries. As a result, it would probably be much easier to mount panels on the roofs of buildings than on surrounding parking lots. In some countries, where solar panels are not practical, other options, such as wind turbines, could well be viable alternatives.
Additionally, some car parks, especially those in city centres, are shaded for most of the day by nearby tall buildings. But there's no reason not to put panels on top of them.
France is likely to pursue this policy to ease its dependence on nuclear energy, which supplies % of the country's electricity. This arrangement works when demand is stable. It becomes a problem when, for example, a drought forces several plants to reduce their energy production or shut down . France is also adding several million electric cars and heat pumps to its network, which will need to take advantage of a variety of energy sources and storage options.
The UK also relies on gas for both electricity and heating. Creating a more diverse energy supply, much of which is directly connected to the same cars or homes that consume that energy, makes a lot of sense. But a strategy to unlock the green energy potential of empty spaces in towns and cities should start, not end, with car parks.
