All Parking Lots with more than 8 spots Should Have Solar Canopies and EV Chargers

Ogre

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The reservoirs and aqueducts, for instance. Especially with how dry it has been.

-Crissa
Reservoirs are particularly good because there is often existing power distribution equipment on site. If you set them up on the north shore of the lake, you never have to worry about trees blocking them. We have a local lake which has a huge south facing shoreline which is often exposed. They could mount solar panels along that section, just raised a bit so they are always above the high water line. I know of several reservoirs in California that haven’t hit high water in a decade or more and likely never will again.
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Reservoirs are particularly good because there is often existing power distribution equipment on site. If you set them up on the north shore of the lake, you never have to worry about trees blocking them. We have a local lake which has a huge south facing shoreline which is often exposed. They could mount solar panels along that section, just raised a bit so they are always above the high water line. I know of several reservoirs in California that haven’t hit high water in a decade or more and likely never will again.

If it’s a storage reservoir not a recreational reservoir, floating solar would help reduce evaporation as well as generating electricity.
 

Ogre

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If it’s a storage reservoir not a recreational reservoir, floating solar would help reduce evaporation as well as generating electricity.
Most around here are both.

I wonder if they could make floating solar that can be grounded when the water levels are low. That would be a lot easier than stilts or something.

The tricky bit is keeping people away from them. Maybe a big shady area would be popular with the fishing boats? They’d need to be protected from vandals and accidents.
 

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Most around here are both.

I wonder if they could make floating solar that can be grounded when the water levels are low. That would be a lot easier than stilts or something.

The tricky bit is keeping people away from them. Maybe a big shady area would be popular with the fishing boats? They’d need to be protected from vandals and accidents.
In the the places that this is implemented the panels are mounted to articulated pontoons that just sit in the lake bed at low water.
 

mje

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The other side to all car park slots having Solar Panels would be then my Cybertruck with its built-in PV panels will be deprived of its 15 miles of free charging per day. Just a thought!
 


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Reservoirs are particularly good because there is often existing power distribution equipment on site. If you set them up on the north shore of the lake, you never have to worry about trees blocking them. We have a local lake which has a huge south facing shoreline which is often exposed. They could mount solar panels along that section, just raised a bit so they are always above the high water line. I know of several reservoirs in California that haven’t hit high water in a decade or more and likely never will again.
Just build them on floats.

If the water does come back, it'll evaporate less under the shade.

These reservoirs are already fenced if there's problems with vandalism.

-Crissa
 
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firsttruck

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The other side to all car park slots having Solar Panels would be then my Cybertruck with its built-in PV panels will be deprived of its 15 miles of free charging per day. Just a thought!
Your Cybertruck would get much more miles from a charge originating from the parking lot solar canopy or parking lot grid feed charger than from solar cells mounted on the Cybertruck.

Solar cells mounted on the Cybertruck are really only useful when no other options are available. If charging is available at home, work, Supercharger, or grid charging at vacation campsite those will be almost always be first choices and Cybertruck solar charging is for when other options are not available.
 

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Your Cybertruck would get much more miles from a charge originating from the parking lot solar canopy or parking lot grid feed charger than from solar cells mounted on the Cybertruck.
That's not quite true.

The cells on the truck won't have to go through an inverter, rectifier (charger), storage, inverter, rectifier, to the Cybertruck's battery. (It's possible there might be fewer steps, but right now, there's no DC charging a Tesla from external solar panels without serious surgery.) They'd always be there and always be working, and would rarely run out of head room to charge.

The advantage static cells have is that they'd be able to be bigger and aimed more optimally. And maybe, just maybe, Tesla will allow DC charging from outside input. But that's more of a maybe than solar cells on the truck.

-Crissa

Edit: I hate how the wysiwyg editor sometimes deletes previously typed words and lines when I start a new line. Fixed. I think.
 
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firsttruck

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That's not quite true.

The cells on the truck won't have to go through an inverter, rectifier (charger), storage, inverter, rectifier, to the Cybertruck's battery. (It's possible there might be fewer steps, but right now, there's no DC charging a Tesla from solar panels without serious surgery.) They'd always be there and always be working, and would rarely run out of head room to charge.

The advantage static cells have is that they'd be able to be bigger and aimed more optimally. And maybe, just maybe, Tesla will allow DC charging from outside input. But that's more of a maybe than solar cells on the truck.

-Crissa
You are talking about efficiency advantages that Tesla MIGHT utilize in a Cybertruck solar implementation. I hope Tesla implements all of them put there are two huge advantages the solar canopy will almost always have over the Cyber truck solar:
more surface area for solar panels, better orientation to sun.

Parking lot solar canopy will almost always have minimum 3-4 times more surface area for solar panels, better orientation to sun, higher efficiency cells while being lower in cost per cell.
So even with conversions the parking lot solar canopy should charge much more miles per day.
 

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You are talking about efficiency advantages that Tesla MIGHT utilize in a Cybertruck solar implementation. I hope Tesla implements all of them put there are two huge advantages the solar canopy will almost always have over the Cyber truck solar:
more surface area for solar panels, better orientation to sun.

Parking lot solar canopy will almost always have minimum 3-4 times more surface area for solar panels, better orientation to sun, higher efficiency cells while being lower in cost per cell.
So even with conversions the parking lot solar canopy should charge much more miles per day.
If the truck has solar panels, it can potentially be getting solar nearly continuously (during daylight). Even while parked where there are no panels. If you park for 10 minutes while pickup up milk at the grocery store, it adds a few watt minutes. Parked at home with no panels, kilowatt hours. Parked at work? More kWh…

You can only collect solar power from a solar panel while you are plugged in at that specific space. While it can deliver much more power at any given moment, there are many times more moments where your truck is not plugged into it.

When I go camping for a weekend… I will be miles away from any sort of charger.
 


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firsttruck

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You are talking about efficiency advantages that Tesla MIGHT utilize in a Cybertruck solar implementation. I hope Tesla implements all of them put there are two huge advantages the solar canopy will almost always have over the Cyber truck solar:
more surface area for solar panels, better orientation to sun.

Parking lot solar canopy will almost always have minimum 3-4 times more surface area for solar panels, better orientation to sun, higher efficiency cells while being lower in cost per cell.
So even with conversions the parking lot solar canopy should charge much more miles per day.
If the truck has solar panels, it can potentially be getting solar nearly continuously (during daylight). Even while parked where there are no panels. If you park for 10 minutes while pickup up milk at the grocery store, it adds a few watt minutes. Parked at home with no panels, kilowatt hours. Parked at work? More kWh…

You can only collect solar power from a solar panel while you are plugged in at that specific space. While it can deliver much more power at any given moment, there are many times more moments where your truck is not plugged into it.
I am not arguing against Cybertruck having solar. I hope Tesla can make Cybertruck solar option affordable and that every Cybertruck has solar.

Even parking lots that have solar canopies are usually NOT 100% are covered. Usually some spots are uncovered.

I do not think retail businesses where most customer are only there for a few minutes need chargers but most should still have parking lot solar canopies where the energy goes to the building or batteries or grid.

Most Cybertruck might not have solar and of course more vehicles will NOT be Cybertrucks (except maybe soon in Texas :).

Most EVs will not have solar.

In sunny climate zones, as much as possible most parking lot spaces ( and aisles) and building rooftops should have solar so we reduce the amount of space we have to use for solar in unpaved rural areas.

When I go camping for a weekend… I will be miles away from any sort of charger.
Yup, prime example why I hope Cybertruck solar option is affordable.
 

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seem like every school in my area has solar in the parking lots, getting harder and harder to find large open lots for our motorcycle training classes... i see a trend
I took mine at an old regional airport that was expanded to help ferry planes around the country during WW2 that has greatly gone unused, so they use a part of concrete runway that is crumbling, but more that adequate for motorcycle training. And part of the training is learning to avoid obstacles, so having poles and supports every so often might be better training, even if more cluttered and distracting at first...
 

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Particularly in urban areas where hurricanes are a threat, the solar panels should not be placed on rooftops. They will just become missiles and slam into adjoining structures when hit by 150mph winds.

Instead, all operational and functional human units should wear a solar panel on their head. Most of these units have only one head, so the panel size per unit will be limited to 150 watts.
There are several homes in Florida that have been thru multiple hurricanes, yet their panels are still on their roof.

They can be build and attached in a way that does not make them missiles that only destroy those surrounding them.

And a ground mount, with more open space below them, actually makes them easier for uplift winds to pull them off than on a roof, where usually the space below the panel is minimized due to the roof being there (flat or slopped).
 

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I'm so sick of my comments being deleted here.
What frustrates me the most is where relevant non-political comments are wiped together with all the political rubbish.
 

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What frustrates me the most is where relevant non-political comments are wiped together with all the political rubbish.
Especially when you’ve attempted steer the conversation back on track…

What could help would be better defined and delineated threads to more easily exclude uncivil or disingenuous commentary. So two people can have at it without everyone else being forced endure the dumpster fire unless they’re into that sort of thing.
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