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Europe’s car parks could be turned into mini solar farms to slash electricity bills and bolster decarbonisation targets – but not every country is on board.

Solar power has been described as a “shining star” of Europe’s clean energy transition, which is already helping cushion the continent from the soaring costs of oil and gas amid the war on Iran.

Thanks to plummeting costs and fast installation, solar has become the most competitive source of electricity in many parts of the EU. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), in 2024 solar panels were on average 41 per cent cheaper than the lowest-cost fossil fuel alternatives.

This has inspired a whole host of solar panel innovations beyond the traditional ground-mounted solar farms and rooftop installations. Europeans are already harnessing free electricity from their garden fences, while solar railways could soon pop up in Italy following a successful trial in Switzerland.

Are solar car parks a smart idea?

Car parks could be another way city infrastructure adapts to the renewables boom, and has become part of several European countries’ long-term strategies.

“Car parks can generate electricity without taking up additional land, which is an important consideration given the planning challenges that ground-mounted solar can encounter,” Rob Stait of Alight, one of Europe’s leading solar developers, tells Euronews Earth.

“The infrastructure pairs with electric vehicle (EV) charging, making it easier and cheaper to install charge points where they’re required, which supports broader decarbonisation targets and creates a further benefit to car park users as well as the wider public.”

Stait adds that solar car ports can also provide sheltered parking to help reduce vehicle cabin temperatures in summer.

He says this is becoming “increasingly important” given Europe’s warming summers – which has already sweltered through a series of back-to-back heatwaves this year.

France leads the way with solar car parks

In 2022, France approved legislation to require all existing and new car parks with space for at least 80 vehicles to be covered by solar panels.

The owners of car parks with between 80 and 400 spaces were told they had five years (until 2027) to comply with the measures, while operators of those with more than 400 had just three years (2025). At least half of the area of the larger sites must be covered by solar panels

The French government said the measures could add 11 gigawatts of power to its grid, enough to power around 12 million homes. Operators ignoring the mandate risked fines of up to €40,000 a year.

Last year, France eased the solar mandate, allowing outdoor parking lots over 1,500 square metres to cover at least half the area with either solar panels, shade-providing trees, or a combination of both.

Similar rules exist in Slovenia, where all reconstructed and new parking lots of more than 1,000 square metres are obliged to install solar panels.

In Germany, new car parks in several regions, including Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein, Rhineland-Palatinate and Lower Saxony have solar mandates depending on the number of parking spaces provided.

UK U-turns on its solar car park plans

Last year, the UK government launched a call to evidence to understand how to “harness the untapped potential” of solar in car parks across the country.

Initial government estimates suggest that an 80-space car park could save around £28,000 (approximately €32,00) per year in electricity bills by installing solar carports and using all of the electricity generated.

Companies could also recover the costs of installing solar panels in car parks by selling energy generated back to the grid.

“Right now, the sun is shining on hundreds of thousands of car parking spaces across the country which could be used to power our homes and businesses,” former Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said last year.

“We want to work with businesses and car park operators to turn our car parks into solar carports to save families and businesses money with clean, homegrown British energy.”

The government pointed to several case studies that are already demonstrating the impact such a policy can have, including the UK’s first ever solar park and ride carport in Leeds.

The system is estimated to generate 852,000 kWh per year, offsetting 471 tonnes of carbon annually, which is the equivalent of removing 203 cars from the roads.

Because the park and ride can store excess energy harnessed from sunlight during the day, it provides lower cost electricity compared to buying energy from the grid. Payback for the EV charging points is estimated to be less than 10 years, based on an average of two charges per day in year one.

‘Huge missed opportunity’

However, following a call for evidence – which is used to collect data, research and expert views to shape new policies or laws – the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESZN) concluded that the policy “will not be taken any further at this point”.

Euronews Earth asked DESNZ why the plans have been shelved given the potential earnings.

“After careful consideration and close engagement with industry, we have decided against mandating solar panels on new car parks,” a spokesperson says.

DESZN says that solar remains “central” to its clean power mission, adding that it continues to support solar panels on new buildings, including car parks, through the Future Buildings Standard scheme.

Stait branded the decision a “huge missed opportunity”, telling Euronews Earth that relying on market forces rarely stacks up without policy support.

“The type of debates that typically slow solar deployment – visual impact, biodiversity, land use (despite such matters being comprehensively addressed by the industry) – largely disappear when you’re building on existing infrastructure like car parks,” he adds.

Stait says that France’s mandate has proven the model is “viable at scale”, arguing that there is a “strong case for the rest of Europe to follow”.