BRE National Solar Centre Launches Good Practice Guide For Solar Car Parks
New guidance* from the BRE National Solar Centre launched at Ecobuild , shows how car park owners can maximize the economic and environmental performance of their assets by deploying PV technologies.
Director of the BRE National Solar Centre Jonny Williams said "˜Solar carports are an excellent way of improving the car-parking experience, whilst also generating clean electricity. With over 17, 000 car parks in the UK, there is a great opportunity for this sector to reap the benefits of solar PV particularly now with falling costs and technical advances that enhance performance outputs.'
The guide gives details on selecting the best sites, how to tap into various revenue streams and how to develop a strong and effective business case for solar investment. A number of design concepts and considerations are set out in detail, and the guide is accompanied by a financial model, downloadable from the BRE website.
Designed to be accessible for the solar PV and construction industries, along with the car parking sector, installation costs are expressed in both £/Wp and £/m2 and revenue streams in terms of income per car parking bay per year.
Dr Nina Skorupska CBE, Chief Executive of the Renewable Energy Association said "˜'Transforming a car park by incorporating solar delivers on so many fronts; The panels create shade, carpark users are protected from the rain, the advertising potential is increased, there is the obvious synergy with electric vehicle charging and it allows the car park owner to make a great environmental statement.'
