Parking Lot Solar Canopies on Cape Cod

Few would argue that the world is going to need to build a lot of solar farms in the years ahead. The question of where to put those solar panels, though, is a little more vexing.

In my home town of Sandwich, for instance, over 15 acres of forest was recently cut down to make way for a solar farm on Cotuit Road. 

Wait, what? How does that make sense? Aren’t trees supposed to be good for the environment? Even the most ardent solar proponents find it difficult to square that circle. 

If only there were millions of acres of wide open spaces where we could put solar panels without having to chop down trees. Where solar panels would actually make those wide open spaces more useful, more attractive, and even a little bit safer. 

Enter the parking lot solar canopy.

Parking lot solar canopies are emerging as a great solution to the problem of where to locate solar farms. In this post we’ll look at the history of solar panels over parking lots, as well as the way these projects are financed, and the benefit they bring to drivers, landowners and society as a whole.

Why So Many Parking Spaces?

It is estimated that there are two billion parking spaces in the United States, ten for every one of the 200 million cars we collectively own. These parking spaces cover an area about the size of Connecticut and each one costs an average of $28,000 to build.

Few people realize how much a little-known zoning policy that mandates minimum parking requirements has impacted our lives and the environment, in mostly negative ways. 

In the years after the Second World War, when car ownership exploded, cities and towns across the country faced a growing problem of where to park all those cars. There was nowhere near enough room for them to park on streets, so many cities (and eventually almost all of them) adopted zoning laws that required every office, bank, restaurant, and other building to have a certain number of parking spaces for every building. 

Exactly how many spaces? Well that was a matter of conjecture. Let’s just say that most cities erred on the side of caution and mandated way more spots than were actually needed. 

The result has been what is sometimes referred to as the paving of America. Millions of acres of black asphalt blighting our towns and cities, crippling small businesses and levying what amounts to a “parking tax” on every one of us, even those of us who don’t own cars.

But the one silver lining to these crazy policies is that we now have plenty of room to put solar panels. Just cover a substantial number of these parking spaces with elegant, useful solar canopies and you can create a win-win-win solution to a number of problems.

The Rise of Parking Lot Solar Canopies

Over the last decade or so, we’ve seen a burgeoning interest in sustainable infrastructure on Cape Cod. Recognizing the dual benefits of generating renewable energy while maximizing space, developers and municipalities began integrating solar panels into existing parking structures. Initial projects were often pilot initiatives, aimed at evaluating efficacy and cost impacts.

Now it seems that the verdict is in. Parking lot solar canopies are efficient and cost-effective, frequently generating positive cash-flow for their hosts.

France even passed a law recently mandating that any parking lot with more than 80 spaces had to cover at least 50% of their area with solar panels within the next three to seven years or face monthly fines until they did.

And while few expect the US to be taking cues from the French when it comes to parking policy anytime soon, it’s hard to argue that our friends across the pond might just be onto something.

Parking Lot Solar Canopy Leases

Most people mistakenly believe that installing a parking lot solar canopy is prohibitively expensive. In fact, the most popular financing models require no upfront cost at all and, in fact, create a reliable, passive income stream for the landowner. 

Typically, these models work in one of the following ways:

Third-Party Ownership (TPO)

In a TPO arrangement, a third-party developer not only finances the installation of the canopies but also pays the landowner a lease payment for up to 25 years.

The developer owns, operates, and maintains the solar facility, and owns the power that the structure generates, selling it on to the utility company for profit.

Meanwhile, the landowner receives a quarterly lease payment for the use of their land (or, more accurately, the space that is 15 feet above their land.)

Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)

Another prevalent model is the Power Purchase Agreement. Here, while the canopy itself is also third-party owned, the property owner agrees to purchase the energy generated by the solar canopy at preset rates for a predefined number of years. 

This strategy not only guarantees energy cost savings but also allows property owners to avoid capital investments.

Who Benefits From Parking Lot Solar Canopies

Parking lot solar canopies offer benefits to several constituencies across Cape Cod.

Customers

Whether you’re popping into a bank for a few minutes, parking for several hours to take in dinner and a movie, or working all day at an office park, having somewhere that’s sheltered to park your car is a nice option. 

Having your vehicle be protected from the elements may mean you don’t have to clear off the snow when you return to it in winter. Or perhaps those seats won’t be quite so hot from sitting in the sun during the summer, since canopies can lower the overall temperature of a parking lot by up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

Having parking spaces that are well lit at night also makes parking lot solar canopies a safer place to park your car. And if the canopies are also equipped with charging stations, the ever-growing number of EV-driving customers can also charge their vehicles while they shop.

Small Businesses

Parking lot solar canopies can offer a valuable source of year-round income for Cape Cod businesses, many of which are seasonal in nature and struggle to make it through the winter months. 

A family-owned motel on the outer Cape, for example, which may not see many guests from November through April, would still be able to count on revenue through the off-season from the lease payments they get for their parking lot canopy.

Large Businesses

For larger businesses, the lease payments may not represent so much of a lifeline, but a parking lot solar canopy could be a huge boost to helping them meet their sustainability goals. Many large companies are coming under increasing scrutiny as to what they are actually doing to meet the climate goals they so boldly laid out in recent years.

A parking lot solar canopy is a very visible indicator that the company does take climate change seriously, something that could make certain customers more likely to give that company their business.

Nonprofits

Nonprofits such as churches, museums and arts centers often have quite large parking lots. What’s more, they often struggle to garner enough donations to meet their mission.

Lease payments from a parking lot solar canopy lease could make a huge difference to their fundraising efforts.

Utility Companies

All utility companies in Massachusetts are operating under mandates that they procure a certain amount of their energy from renewable sources. On Cape Cod, the target that Eversource must meet is 30% renewable by 2025. Failure to meet that goal will result in hefty fines, and that percentage also gets ratcheted up each year thereafter. 

So the ability to purchase power that is generated locally from parking lot solar canopies helps them to meet those targets, as well as helping to stabilize operation of the grid.

High-Profile Parking Lot Solar Canopies on Cape Cod

Anyone who has spent time driving around Cape Cod over the last few years will have noticed several parking lot solar canopies. Some of the highest-profile installations include:

Barnstable Fairgrounds

Every year, the Barnstable County Fair is held in East Falmouth off of Route 151. The fairgrounds really aren’t used all that much at any other time of year so placing parking lot solar canopies over that space would seem like a pretty good use for otherwise under-utilized land. 

The impressive structures now stand as a highly visible testament to the town of Falmouth’s commitment to the fight against climate change.

Upper Cape Regional Vocational Technical School

Further down Route 28 in Bourne, the Upper Cape Regional Vocational Technical School has installed one of the largest high school parking lot solar canopies in the state, a  663-kilowatt (kW) system that contains almost 2,000 panels.

The $2 million project was installed by Solect, who will be responsible for maintenance and with whom the school has signed a power purchase agreement at a rate that is far lower than prevailing Eversource rates.

Cape Cod Community College

The Cape Cod Community College in West Barnstable has long hosted solar panels, with a rooftop system on the science building, a ground-mounted system that’s clearly visible from Route 132, as well as parking lot canopies throughout the campus. 

More recently they have added a much larger parking lot canopy over the parking lot by the tennis courts.

Perhaps no other entity on Cape Cod has made a bigger commitment to solar than the college.

Final Thoughts on Parking Lot Solar Canopies

As a community that sits on the front lines of the fight against climate change, Cape Cod has a more vested interest than most in encouraging the development of parking lot solar canopies.

Seldom has there been a better opportunity to take what is often perceived as a blight on our communities and turn it into an asset.

With creative leasing arrangements and certainly no shortage of parking lots, solar canopies can be seen as a win-win solution to several environmental problems.

The Cape Cod Solar Guys work with developers of parking lot solar canopies and can help you to decide if your business, church or nonprofit would be a good candidate. Feel free to contact us for a no-pressure, informative conversation.