Great energy initiative by the French government

Direct use of solar power is very efficient if a car park is roofed in solar it’s perfect for car charging, also for lighting refrigeration and air conditioning in shops. It’s self financing too, payback is very quick, much better than remote solar farms feeding the grid because it balances the grid load.

Fleurpepper

And there are 1000s of sq.m of rooves which would be perfect. Schools, hospitals, shopping centres, farm barns, and those monstruous warehouses dotted around the countryside all over the UK, and of course all new housing, and eventually all rooves. It makes ZERO sense to cover greenfields with solar panels, when all those rooves are not.

An example of how it can be done is at Bentley Motors, Crewe, who appear to be leading the way. Below is their news release in 2019.

"Bentley Motors has reinforced its commitment to sustainable energy with the installation of the UK’s largest ever solar car port at the Bentley factory headquarters in Crewe, UK. This means – in Bentley's centenary year – all electricity used to manufacture every Bentley is solar or certified green.

The installation of 10,000 solar panels, which have a capacity of 2.7MW, cover 1,378 car parking spaces and an area of 16,426m², enough to cover two football pitches.

Commenting on Bentley’s investment, Peter Bosch, Bentley’s Member of the Board for Manufacturing, said:

“It’s important to look ahead and prepare the business for the next 100 years by investing significantly in our products, our people and our site infrastructure. This includes new initiatives that reinforce our commitment to the environment.

“Whether this is introducing alternative powertrain technologies in future models, or our award-winning work to reduce the environmental impact of our factory, these sustainable measures strengthen our desire to lead the way in sustainable luxury mobility.”

The solar car port takes Bentley’s total on-site solar panel energy capacity to 7.7MW, enough to cover over 1,750 homes. This includes the 2013 roof top installation of 20,815 panels with the total number of individual solar panels on site in Crewe now 30,815.

The car port was installed by FlexiSolar, the innovative solar car port specialist with the project backed by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency driven to support the science and technology initiatives that will grow the UK economy."

It is a good idea but our government aren't renowned for good ideas.

What a bon idee (don't know how you get the accent) but dh says the solar panels don't last too long?

Sacre bleu Ze Frech have beaten us again!

And there are 1000s of sq.m of rooves which would be perfect. Schools, hospitals, shopping centres, farm barns, and those monstruous warehouses dotted around the countryside all over the UK, and of course all new housing, and eventually all rooves. It makes ZERO sense to cover greenfields with solar panels, when all those rooves are not.

Yes I saw that, and thought exactly the same.

Our government totally lacks imagination if there is no money in it for them.