Solar parking canopies to save California schools millions

We know that parking canopies are there for one reason - to shield your car from the scorching sun and prevent you from getting wet as you alight from your car during rainy days.

It doesn't have to stop there.

The roofs have done their job nicely, but they can give you more - lighting up the canopies, parking lots, charging mobile devices (and electric cars), and powering up communication towers placed in the vicinity. The list doesn't end there. The point is, installing solar roof is doable and can be profitable.


Case in point - a 325kW solar canopy system in the parking lot of Whole Foods in Brooklyn, NY. Image by: Solitaire Generation


Schools save $$$ with 7.4 MW solar PV on parking canopies

While this happened in California, SunEdison no stranger to the Malaysian local RE community.

Back in 2014 it inked a deal with Malaysia Airport Berhad to make Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) the first airport in Malaysia with solar power system. Of the 19MW proposed solar PV system, 10MW was to be installed on parking canopies.

In January this year, SunEdison signed solar power purchase agreements with 25 elementary, middle and high schools in California to install high-performance solar parking canopies at each of the campuses, which is expected to save the schools more than $30 million on energy costs over the next 20 years.

The 5 unified school districts to benefit from the new solar systems are Dixon, Downey, Duarte, Livermore and Newman Crows Landing. These districts signed 20-year PPAs with SunEdison for more than 7.4 MW of solar to be installed on parking canopies in each school's parking lot.

"Using parking lot space for solar solves two problems: It provides much-needed shade for cars from the scorching California sun, and it lowers electricity costs - typically a school's second largest expense," says Sam Youneszadeh, SunEdison's regional general manager of its Western U.S. solar business.

"We've helped more than 150 schools become not only more self-sufficient, but also enabled them to free up funds to maintain their buildings and ensure they continue to be safe and positive learning environments," adds Youneszadeh.

With SunEdison's solar PPAs, these schools can enjoy the benefits of solar energy without any upfront cost. SunEdison will install, own and operate each system while the schools buy electricity at rates lower than those offered by their local utility.

The solar systems are expected to generate enough energy to offset more than half of all the electricity used at each school - that same amount of electricity can power 1,700 Californian homes a year.

SunEdison expects to complete the parking canopies this year.

The Green Mechanics' two cents:
Our schools in the interior are most suitable for such installation as electricity is mostly consumed during schooling hours when the sun is up there providing solar power. Airports in the remote areas are also good prospects as their operations are the busiest during daytime.

Source: Solar Industry Magazine | 14 January 2016 

Market for MW-scale PV-related activities to surpass 133 GW worldwide by end-2015

According to GTM's latest report released recently, Megawatt-Scale PV O&M and Asset Management 2015-2020, the total market for megawatt-scale Operation & Maintenance (O&M) and Asset Management (AM) is expected to surpass 133 GW worldwide by the end of 2015.

Megawatt-scale PV refers to installations/activities in access of 1 MW which means residential solar PV and other smaller solar farms are excluded.

The research firm further stated that total market will more than triple by 2020 to exceed 488 GW worldwide, driven predominantly by China, the U.S., India and Japan.


Major vendors. Source: Periodical e-mail updates from GreentechMedia

The research finding provides global and country-specific competitive landscape analysis, market sizing and forecasts, current and emerging trends and strategies, as well as service scope and price levels for a variety of plant sizes.

It also provides profile of 57 vendors in the O&M and Asset Management space including services offered, in/out-sourcing policies and fleet size by key country.

Comprehensive geographical coverage 

With every major markets being covered in the research, there's a fair chance that you would get an informed decision in your renewable energy projects, in particular solar PV. The report is available for a fee but for the industry players, this should be considered as small cost to doing business. As for the rest of us readers, we'll have to be contented with just the bits and pieces of information released by GTM later (probably, with no time frame).

Markets covered includes Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, and United States.

The Green Mechanics: If I were to be a member of the management team of SEDA Malaysia, I would strongly recommend that we get a copy of the report.

Source: GTM

My wish is to become a smart phone

Received this and I tought I should share it for this generation and for the generation to come. Read and see what you make of it. Nothing was changed from the original text.

Sad but true

A teacher after the dinner she started checking homework done by the students. Her husband is strolling around with a smart phone playing his favourite game 'Candy Crush Saga'.

When reading the last note, the wife starts crying with silent tears.

Her husband saw this and asked, 'Why are you crying dear?

What happened?'

Wife: 'Yesterday I gave homework to my 1st Standard students, to write something on topic -My Wish-.

'Husband: 'OK, but why are you crying?

'Wife: 'Today while checking the last note, it makes me cry.

'Husband curiously: 'What's written in the note that makes you cry?

'Wife: 'Listen'

My wish is to become a smart phone.

My parents love smart phone very much.

They care for smart phone so much that sometimes they forget to care for me.When my father comes from office tired, he has time for smart phone but not for me.

When my parents are doing some important work and smart phone is ringing, within single ring they attend to the phone, but not me even...even if I am crying.

They play games on their smart phones not with me.When they are talking to someone on their smart phone, they never listen to me even if I am telling something important.

So, My wish is to become a smart phone.

After listening the note husband got emotional and asked the wife, 'who wrote this?'.

Wife: 'Our son'.

Gadgets are beneficial, but they are for our ease not to cease the love amongst family and loved ones.

Children see and feel everything what happens with & around them. Things get imprinted on their mind with an everlasting effect. Let's take due care, so that they do not grow with any false impressions.

Source: anonymous