Ask HN: Why don't we cover parking lots with solar?

  • Cost. The price increase is 50% to a 100% more then conventional. [0]

    Some countries, like France, have passed legislation to make sure large parking lots have at least 50% of their lot covered in solar canopies. [1]

    Other studies are trying to convince stores and owners of such places, that the investment is worth it and can possibly even take them of the grid.

    [0] https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1...

    [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2022/11/09/solar-pa...

  • Could be a number of things. Parking lots that are large enough would be for commercial buildings (i.e., office building or shopping centers). The owner of the building + parking lot might not want to be in the energy production business. And working out a legal agreement with the local power company might be too complicated. For example, a car hits a support for the solar panels. Or a solar panel falls and totals are car. If a panel on a farm falls and kills a cow the downside is relatively minor.

    The technology is moving fast. The law and lawyers typically don't move as fast.

  • Urban parking lots are ephemeral. They are a way to pay taxes and make a little income before a large commercial business is built there. Perhaps the costs of constructing a solar park and the costs of removing it don't seem practical in the face of an uncertain future.

  • Physical footprint changes like this are sloooooow. For example, “according to the latest data from the 2021 American Community Survey (ACS), the median age of owner-occupied homes was 40 years.” Add that to every other problem you mentioned, and several more in comments, and even in places like Arizona where a shaded parking spot is valuable than typical you just don’t see a ton of installations.