Energy efficient parking lots: A step towards mitigating climate change 

Climate change, as all of you are aware, is one of the most pressing global concerns. Taking this into account, nations around the world are aiming towards reducing their carbon footprints, especially by making sustainable modes of transportation. One such effort is already in place, thanks to the emergence of electric and battery-run cars that have reduced carbon emissions in the recent times.  

But now, parking lots too have come to focus and making them eco-friendly has become the need of the hour. For those unaware, parking lots are often used by electric vehicles (EVs) to recharge and this consumes a lot of power that can otherwise be used for other more important purposes. With this in mind, recently, France has introduced a law that enforces that parking lots should have solar panels installed on the roofs with 80 and more space, within the next half decade. In the parking spaces that can accommodate 400 and up vehicles, the law states that at least half of it should be powered by solar panels within a span of the next three years.  

Can you understand what this means? Yes, that’s right, it’s not just cars that need energy transition, but also where they are parked. Similar renewable energy design ideas are also expected to gain popularity across USA where local and state governments are already taking incentive-based initiatives to encourage such climate change mitigating technology. Not only that, the US federal government has also introduced measures such as the latest Inflation Reduction Act that commits to using solar power in all fields.  

Apart from parking lots, several other places in the USA such as the Walmart stores, Target stores, Amazon warehouses, IKEA and Home Depot are also implementing solar panels and aim to make it a nationwide thing by 2040. This also means producing renewable power on site as well as from utility-scale projects. The goal is to make solar power cost-effective (already reduced by 60 percent in last decade) and readily available.  

Sources also cite that apart from governments and private industries, a global commercial real-estate company called CBRE has joined hands with renewable energy-based firm called Altus Power and is striving to include various Fortune 500 companies within the upcoming solar projects. The key objectives include: decarbonisation, energy efficiency and energy resilience. And the best way to do so is building clean energy on site, such as solar carports and rooftop solar panels.  

Wondering what led to such proactive measures? Well, that would be large scale global public awareness about climate change.  

Currently, two such projects called Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target and Maryland Energy Administration Solar Canopy Grant Programme are already in process, that are drawing funds to construct EV chargers on site. Thanks to such approaches, the International Energy Agency is hopeful that it will somehow contribute to handling climate crisis in the long run.