This article talks about the adoption of solar carports at Kyocera Corporation in Japan, which was fitted with solar carports by Envision Solar, a nationwide developer of these types of carports. On the other side of the globe, the New York Institute of Technology just received an award for adding solar carports to their campuses all over New York, staring with Central Islip campus and continuing with Old Westbury campus as well. According to the article, these types of photovoltaic panel-covered carports could be commercially successful on a large-scale, national and international level, particularly as car technology moves towards fully-electric driven vehicles. The success of other companies’ adoption of solar carports has driven a massive increase in these types of projects – one example is seen at Cathay Bank in California, who just signed a large contract with PermaCity Solar to develop carports for its corporate center.

Green technology is a hot topic and solar carports are part of the new school of sustainable energy systems. As electric cars begin to be developed and introduced to the world, there will be a need for massive sustainable energy development – the reliance on coal and other emissive energy sources will need to change to continue the progress of green technology represented by electric powered cars. Solar carports will prove to be an excellent source of this kind of energy.

Solar carports have been in the news recently for this purpose, this time for a school district in California. The San Ramon Valley Unified School District decided to add solar panels to six of its schools – four middle and two high schools – to replace two-thirds of the traditional energy used by each. With a $23.2 million contract with SunPower Corp. to add these systems, the schools should have the solar carports in place by the 2011-12 school year. All carports will be added to current areas of school parking.

However, adding these carports wasn’t a solid decision by the school board until recently. The district wondered if solar energy would be beneficial and, as we’ve seen in some cases, the cost of adding a system of solar carports ends up being expensive up front and not truly becoming a cost-efficient method for a few years, even decades, down the line. Additionally, the factor of maintaining these carports was also an issue. The carports by SunPower have a 17-year warranty and, within this time, the school expects to use them for 95-percent of their energy. But, if the replacement of traditional to solar power doesn’t happen during this time, SunPower will reimburse the school district.

This particular solar carport is unique because of its size. Made by the company Smart Park, these solar carports are a 368kW system that covers 35,000 square feet. When this carport system is in use, it is capable of covering 110 vehicles under multiple long metal carports. The system consists of 300 kW modules and a smaller roof mounted system. The cars, meanwhile, are shaded by these large metal carports during the workday.

As with many carports we’ve seen previously, this particular system was funded by a grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Towns and cities across the country are looking for ways to incorporate environmentally-friendly sources of power into the electric grid, and a solar carport is considered to be one of the more logical options. The cars, shaded by the metal carports, receive protection during the day, while the format of these fixtures puts natural energy into the power grid. Although some systems can be costly to set up, the price becomes worth it within a few years, as the surrounding city or town saves on not having to generate power from a non-natural source.

In one story that appeared on Cabot.net, various metropolitan areas in the United States are preparing for electric cars, with the first group of vehicles by American manufacturers set to debut in December. While the article mentions that ten percent of all vehicles should be electric by 2020, another important aspect of electric cars is adjusting power grids. This is where carports come in, typically as a way to absorb solar energy, shield the car, and give it a place to charge up. Many homes, workplaces, and places on the road will need to have charging stations for such vehicles.

In another story, the US Marine Corps has been trying to incorporate various alternative energy methods into everyday practice. The most recent is the Ground Renewable Expeditionary Energy System, or GREEN, that has incorporated solar panels and rechargeable batteries into many domestic and overseas activities. As far as carports are concerned, an air station in Miramar, California, has been using them to supply energy to the base. Perhaps, in the future, all marines and armed forces bases will have a solar carport of some kind for energy and recharging vehicles.

The full plan, as outlined in more detail in the link above, involves 1.1 megawatt systems in ten hospitals, with the photovoltaic panels divided between roofs and carports. This will be done with a $7.8 million federal contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs for hospitals ranging from East Coast locations all the way to Pago Pago in American Samoa. The photovoltaic systems in these cases will range from 50 kilowatts, presumably on a carport, to 400 kilowatt systems on top of hospitals. The project, while similar to those we’ve seen with money from the federal stimulus, is part of a government effort to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions three percent each year up to 2015.

Previously, we saw similar projects involving solar carports that, financially, didn’t make sense. In the case of the last post, about the solar carport for a police station near Columbus, OH, the total project cost $300,000 for one building and would only power about 15 to 20 percent of the building. While the cost of each project in this case is about $780,000 is you divide the amount evenly between hospitals, the solar panel systems will be far more extensive and, presumably, will be a larger part of each hospital’s energy.

So, then, is it possible for such a project not to be practical or to cost too much? In Bexley, a city near Columbus, OH, the answer might be, “Yes.” The project involving solar carports has plans for adding four carports to the parking lot of police station to support photovoltaic panels, which will serve as 15 to 20 percent of the police station’s energy. But, while this project will cost over $300,000, the city will save only $75,000 over 20 years from powering the police station. Does this seem like a wise investment or incorporation of solar power?

Carports have been used in such projects for their versatility. Not only do the structures provide shade far cars in a parking lot but they can support solar panels and be angled in a few directions for the best possible location. Unfortunately, this project in Bexley doesn’t appear to have much financial payoff for the city. Although Ohio has 25 projects planned for alternative energy using the federal stimulus money, the city of Bexley is still deciding on the practicality of this one.

The college, located in Old Westbury, created solar carports, according to the article, that can produce 33 kilowatt hours of electricity per day. With one carport per parking spot, charging an electric car in one of these spaces gives enough power for a 20 mile commute. The actual design of these particular carports, as implied by the article, involves one carport per space, not the large carport shelters seen in the last post at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. Nevertheless, while students are in class, they can park and plug their cars into one of these spaces under a solar carport and charge up the car. While some students may drive more than 20 miles per day, they can charge the Prius cars at home using a large extension cords. As some students at the school are involved in a drive-share program, they’re encouraged to take the Prius cars from school to home and back again.

This solar carport is the first of its kind on Long Island. According to the article, it was funded by the LIPA and federal Department of Energy as an experiment but also an effort to attempt to replace traditional energy with solar and, with the electric cars, to reduce emissions on the island.

Many companies and schools are finding ways to go green. This option often involves creating a solar powered carport to give power to a building. In the UK, company Romag, as we read earlier, created a similar model for general solar power for a power grid and to power electric cars. In New Jersey, this particular carport involved the first allocation of federal economic stimulus funding to the state. As the carport was funded by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, the stimulus money seemed like a reasonable way to find a green energy project.

Carports, particularly metal carports, appear to be ideal for this task of incorporating solar power into areas that would automatically rely on a less environmentally-friendly form, be it nuclear, electric, or coal fuel. But this structure works two-fold: While the Richard Stockton College is able to use solar energy and reduce its carbon footprint, students at the school also get a parking space in the shade. Does this indicate that carports may be covering all parking lots in the future? Perhaps or maybe not, but all of that depends on how far businesses, schools, and communities, as well as individuals, go with experimenting with solar energy.

Regardless of whether the solar power is used for charging electric cars or for simply powering a school, the key here is the design of the carport. Although a polyethylene, or portable, carport is out of the question, using the design for metal carports is more practical. While metal or concrete carports have been in use for these solar carports, the roof of the structure needs to be large and strong enough to support multiple solar panels. While most carports have a peaked roof, a metal structure can still be used for these solar carports, as long as the roof is flat and angled.

But why carports, exactly? Why not simply attach the carports at an angle to the roof of a building? As seen in this article, the carports, solar panels or not, are being used as carports should: for shade and to protect the vehicles from sun and rain. Adding solar panels to a carport is simply a double functioning structure. On one hand, many carports in a parking lot can shade and protect several cars, and the surface area from the roofs of the carports can be used for supporting solar panels. The car-charging design used by some carports charges the cars in addition to the basic function of a carport.