TCK Solar have been thinking, what ways can solar be used outside
of the home in order to make a positive impact upon the world?
After some research they discovered that an increasingly
common trend around the globe is creating solar power farms in car parks,
mainly in supermarket and retail hub car parks.
Seen above is an image of a small car park at a German
supermarket, this is new type of solar farm that is also being seen across the
West Coast of the United States, in particular Arizona and Californian, two
states renowned for their sunny disposition.
The idea behind solar farm car parks is simple, unused space
is being used to harness the suns energy and an additional bonus to consumers
is that their vehicles are also provided with extra protection from the heat
and other elements.
We are hoping that more and more Australian retailers
approach the future with green methods such as the solar farm car park in
mind. In Chatswood, on Sydney’s sunny Northern Shore, The Willoughby City
Council set in action a plan to establish a solar farm opposite a major
shopping hub in a neighboring high rise car park.
With “552 SCHOTT Solar Poly Perform 245W modules coupled
with 8 SMA STP17000TL inverters” in place the council had the goal of producing
248.2MWh of electricity per annum in a bid to curb the council’s consumption
and costs, in addition the reduction of C02 emissions by over 270 per annum.
