The UK government may follow in the footsteps of France and Slovenia to mandate solar carports in carparks.
But first it wants to hear from stakeholders – carpark owners, solar companies and individuals – to understand how to harness the untapped potential of solar in carparks across England, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as understand the barriers.
In addition, the Government wants to find out people’s views on planning policy around EV charging infrastructure including permitted development rights.
The call out sees a proposal to mandate the introduction of solar carports on new outdoor car parks and ‘opportunities for deployment on existing car parks above a certain size’.
The government calculates that supermarkets, retail parks and offices with up to 80 carpark spaces could save up to the £28,000 a year on their energy bills if solar carports were installed across the country.
Businesses and organisations could sell excess energy to the national grid or to nearby businesses and homes.
The move would support the government’s promise to become a clean energy superpower as we move towards net zero, providing cheap energy to household and businesses as well as providing much-needed energy security.
The government highlights that transport remains the largest emitting sector of greenhouse gases, producing 29 per cent of the UK’s total emissions in 2023. Therefore, it says, decarbonising road transport through EV adoption is critical.
It argues that solar carports provide a great opportunity for substantial expansion of EV charging infrastructure in areas of high need such as towns and cities where customers or employers can charge their cars.
The Government also underlined how solar canopies protect customers from rain and the sun, keeping their cars cool during hotter days.
It also points out that a national solar carport rollout will create many more jobs in addition to the 17,500 direct and indirect jobs currently employed by the solar sector across the UK.
Currently, the government says it’s difficult to assess exactly how many carparks there are across the regions because they are owned by so many different organisations from local authorities to private companies.
So, part of the call for evidence is to get a good understanding of the scale and ownership of carparks.
If you’d like to contribute to the evidence, you have until midnight June 18 to submit your answers.
For more information about how much a solar carport can save your business on energy bills, why not use our Solar Savings Index to find out.
Alternatively, contact our Solspan experts who are always on hand to answer any of your questions about installing a solar carport.