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Why Not Have Solar on Parking Lots?

Solar array placement can be a frequent topic in energy education.

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Updated:

September 30, 2026

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After having many conversations with people about large-scale solar, one trend always comes up: "Why not put solar on X instead of open land?" The most common suggestion is parking lots. This makes sense since people get shade for their cars, and solar panels can go on land that has already been developed, saving undeveloped land. There are multiple factors to consider and this article will explore the issue a little more deeply.

What Are Solar Canopies?

Solar canopies are solar arrays mounted on a metal framework to a height where vehicles can park under them. Solar canopies are preferred because they can reduce the heat from direct sunlight on cars parked there, as well as catch much of the snow that would otherwise cover the parking lot. Generally, solar canopies are sized so that most of the electricity meets the business's needs. Sizing an array to produce far more energy than the business needs and sending it into the distribution grid can work, but depending on the situation, it could require a high price tag to upgrade the grid to safely offtake the energy. Because of this, most businesses will opt to match their usage.

Could Solar Canopies Make a Significant Impact?

With electricity demand higher than ever, can solar parking lots make a significant difference in meeting that demand and replacing retiring power plants? In the United States, the U.S. Geological Survey has reported that there are 13,778 square miles of parking lots, based on 2012 numbers.⁽¹⁾ This amount of land could easily meet all the energy demands of our grid, but many factors limit it. A lot of these square acres are small parking lots where it doesn't make logistical sense to install a canopy for the limited amount of solar being generated. By including parking lots shaded by other structures, historical sites, places with poor grid connectivity, and other factors, we can get a more realistic answer. A 2010 analysis by Time magazine did just this. They examined estimates of how much solar capacity could be installed on parking lots, yielding a conservative estimate of 422 GW and a high-end estimate of 800 GW in the US.⁽²⁾ Although the U.S. grid's total capacity of 1,281 GW suggests this is feasible, the question remains: why hasn't it happened?⁽³⁾

Economics

The easiest answer is economics. A solar canopy is about 40% more expensive than a traditional ground mount system.⁽⁴⁾ This is mainly due to the additional infrastructure required to raise the panels. While some businesses may consider the added benefits to customers, such as better parking and EV charging, it is not a clear answer compared to using rooftop space to meet their electricity needs or not making the investment at all. The other big factor is that any solar installation has a high upfront cost, but should eventually pay for itself over the long term. Some businesses with large parking lots may be able to, but for others, it might be hard to make that long-term investment. In the end, whether a solar canopy for a parking lot is an option depends on many factors specific to the businesses that own them. There is, however, one more layer to consider.

How Does Solar Development Work?

When having these conversations, people generally ask why they don't just put solar on parking lots, and there is a question of who that "they" is. There are two types of solar developers: residential/commercial-scale and utility-scale, who have different business models. Residential/commercial developers will always have to try to sell to many individuals. While solar arrays can be good products, they won’t make sense in every situation, especially given the upfront cost and the risk that comes with it if something goes wrong. Utility-scale developers have an advantage, given they are generally selling these projects to investors who are more tolerant of risk and have more money to invest, making it easier to deploy much more solar at scale than trying to convince individual businesses. Utility-scale solar is also the most attractive option to convince investors simply because it is the cheapest form of solar compared to any type of commercial or residential system. The National Laboratory of the Rockies found that utility-scale ground-mounted projects had a levelized cost of energy of 4.8 cents per kw over the lifetime of the project, compared to the average commercial system being 7.7 cents/ kw.⁽⁵⁾ Investors choosing to take on the risk of a large-scale project want the best chance of a return, and their customers, or the wholesale market our electricity comes from, can get electricity more cheaply because of this. Part of what reduces this cost is simply that developers can concentrate a lot of solar in one area, versus having to worry about the various logistics that come with developing the land and the grid to offtake their electricity.

In Pennsylvania, this model has also been the fastest at delivering solar capacity to the grid, with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) finding that as of the end of 2025, utility-scale solar has added 1,138 MW of electric capacity, while conversely just 227 MW for commercial installations in general, not factoring in how many developments are solar canopies.⁽⁶⁾

Is It a Problem?

While solar energy uses more land than other energy sources, DEP found that about 80,000 acres would be needed to meet 10% of Pennsylvania's electricity needs.⁽⁷⁾ Compare this to the 220,000 acres of farmland lost in Pennsylvania between 2017 and 2022, according to the USDA Ag census.⁽⁸⁾ Very little of this farmland was lost to solar development. Solar does use farmland, but it is not as much of an issue as other types of development, like low-density residential development or warehouses.

Others point to parking lots as creating a dual-use situation that optimizes land use, combining needed parking with energy production. Dual use is also possible for utility-scale solar arrays through agrivoltaics, which takes the space left open in a solar array and uses it for agriculture. Currently, sheep grazing is the most common form of agrivoltaics, but other types are used outside of Pennsylvania, such as more traditional crop growing, as well as cattle grazing and vegetable crops. Solar arrays can also support pollinator habitats, benefiting the environment and agriculture in the same area where these habitats might otherwise not be established. While solar development might not be optimal, it doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game in which agriculture and the environment lose.

While solar panels on parking lots can be a great option and could reduce the amount of undeveloped land needed for utility-scale solar power, there is no single solution that will meet our need for electricity generation.