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

Ask Lemmy

26260 readers
1185 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


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 !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. 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 info@lemmy.world. 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
[–] Usernameblankface@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Wouldn't all of those costs be offset by the power generated? At least, the solar power would reduce the stores' draw from the grid. At most (depending on the size of the parking lot) the store would feed the grid on sunny days.

It seems to me that investing in the panel canopies, controllers, and modified grid connection would soon pay for itself and then fund the installation of the same for the next store.

[–] surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

If there was truly money to be made, people would be making it. Never underestimate the dedication of opportunists.

So if it's not happening, it's because the dollars aren't there.

Second question should be, why aren't the dollars there? Is it artificial limitations, like laws about power generation? Is it the cost of the supplies only? We understand that, we can fix the problem.

[–] solrize@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

You have to do the math. That solar canopy ends up costing around $5 per watt to install, apparently. WIth 0.3 solar constant (counting some other factors) that's 2.6 KWH/year per watt of solar, maybe 30 cents at industrial rates. So 15-ish years to pay off. Of course you can change the parameters around and do the math differently. Also hmm, 5% interest on the $5 is $.25 so that kills most of the 30 cents you get back in electricity. Scale this up to a 1 megawatt ($5 million) array for a Walmart sized parking lot and it's not so attractive. It was better a few years ago when interest rates were near zero.

[–] Usernameblankface@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

There's also leverage to make a bulk deal for the panels and installation because it's Walmart or whatever, rising cost of electricity (depending on location) shortening the payoff time, grants and tax breaks for renewable energy, the value of a green energy initiative for a PR push, attracting more customers because their cars can park in the shade.

If they have to design custom canopies, wiring solutions, etc, it would add to the costs a lot.