Solar energy has been making headlines over the last two years after the French government made it mandatory for car park owners with 80 to 400 spaces to cover them with solar panels.
However, the renewable energy drive in France isn’t just about being seen to be green. It has huge cost benefits to the country and helps increase its national energy security in an unstable market.
Over the next five years, solar carport installations will add a giant 11 gigawatts of power to the French grid, enough to power nearly eight million homes, equivalent to the power produced by ten power stations.
In the same way commercial property owners and real estate investors are increasingly no longer seeing solar energy as a ‘nice to have’ green credential.
They are cottoning onto the huge benefits of providing solar carports to increase the value of their properties as well as attracting eco-conscious tenants and clients.
The move to invest in solar carports makes logical financial sense to property owners and investors when they can save on energy bills and generate additional income by selling the electricity to the public or providing it as a benefit to staff through EV charging points.
For example, two of our Solspan carports covering a total of 80 spaces with 1000m² of solar panels can save between £29,000 to £42,000 per year in electricity bills and 31 tonnes of CO2 a year whilst charging 3,500 electric vehicles.
Creating your own energy through solar power is also very attractive to tenants whose business is at constant risk from an unpredictable energy market where utility bills only seem to go one way.
Solar panel carports also lead to good Energy Performance Ratings which can boost rental values and help cut operating costs at the same time as achieving sustainability and solar power saving goals.
Finally, a commercial property with solar power carports will attract tenants who are keen to promote their corporate social responsibility credentials and boost their image with the public and their customers, as well as taking advantage of the cost and carbon savings a solar carport installation can offer.
Find out more about Solspan carports on our product page and contact us for more information.