this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2024
121 points (97.6% liked)

Ask Lemmy

26831 readers
1452 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try [email protected]


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either [email protected] or [email protected]. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email [email protected]. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Covering large parking lots with solar panels is an idea that goes back decades but in America at least it's an idea that has never really taken off.

What is the reason for that? Is it due to the overall cost or is there something else that keeps Walmart, Target, Costco, Sams Club, Malls, etc. from covering their parking lots with these panels and selling the power?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I believe, this is because it's not yet a business model (nor a legal requirement). The first questions is, who even owns the lot and who has to power to make changes? Then, who gets to use the power output? Do you use it on-site or feed to grid? Do the local utility work with you or against you? (Hint: You are competitors now and running a grid is not free.)

That's just speculation, why solar-covered parking lots are not yet build much. The idea totally makes sense. It will probably take a either a startup company that figures out how and sells the solutions to the owners or a local government pushing for more solar.

To those saying, it's cheaper to build on a roof. Maybe, then do the roof, first, if it's feasible. Is it cheaper to build on undeveloped land or farm land? Maybe, if you live in the middle of nowhere or drive a significant distance to do your shopping. Still, plenty of opportunity to build over parking lots.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

I've seen other discussions come to the conclusion that rooftop solar on a warehouse size building would be more expensive than the whole infrastructure of parking lot shades. They said that the entire structure would need reinforcement. Not a problem on new buildings, they can be designed to take the extra weight from the start

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

A girl I dated works for a company that has a "rubble site," they essentially tried solar on the roof, and it eventually collapsed the roof in and ruined the entire building.