In its latest report, the Swiss agency Energie Zukunft Schweiz (EZS) estimates that the country has at least 64 km² of parking, which represents a theoretical photovoltaic potential of 6 to 10 GWp.But the technical constraints and the low profitability of the projects are still hampering the principals.Chablais Center carport in Aigle, Romande Energie.In its latest study, written last May, the Swiss agency Energie Zukunft Schweiz (EZS) looked at the potential of solar parking canopies in Switzerland and examined the technical and economic factors at play when implementing of these projects.For this, EZS, supported by SuisseEnergie, the program of the Federal Office of Energy for energy efficiency and renewable energies, conducted expert interviews with various planning companies, manufacturers and installation companies of solar carports to highlight the inherent possibilities and challenges.It appears that the country has at least 64 km² of parking, which represents a theoretical photovoltaic potential of 6 to 10 GWp.“This corresponds to approximately 20% of the exploitable photovoltaic potential on roofs.Solar carports could therefore play an important role in the development of solar energy,” note the authors of the study.However, this type of installation is still rare in the country.“To date, Swiss photovoltaic installations are mainly mounted on the roofs of buildings,” the document continues.This trend is explained by the large number of roofs available, an often simple technical implementation, as well as by economic aspects.To achieve the ambitious targets for the expansion of new renewable energies, it will be necessary to install more photovoltaic systems on the surfaces of infrastructures, such as noise barriers, dams, treatment plants, or as solar shades for car parks”.There are currently several large-scale solar carports that have been commissioned in recent years and that the study lists.Built in 2016, the Courgenay shade house, for example, has a power of 6.75 MWp.It was installed on the site of the Swiss logistician GEFCO to modernize its car park of 78,000 m² on which are accommodated up to 3,000 imported vehicles before their distribution on the national territory.While these solar carports offer many advantages, in terms of vehicle protection or the installation of electric charging stations, the authors point out that a certain number of negative points were mentioned to them during the interviews.The negative points associated with the various projects were in particular the removal of a few parking spaces, greater difficulty of snow removal in winter and the loss of leeway for vehicles, which could generate potential collisions.The complicating factors mentioned also concerned the coordination of the construction work with the activity carried out on the parking area, as well as the choice of the foundation and the suitable carport structure.Finally, as the study points out, the profitability of photovoltaic carports also depends heavily on the investment costs which, "due to the structures and civil works for the foundations and the laying of cables under the car park, are significantly higher higher than the investment costs for a photovoltaic installation on the roof".According to figures from Energieschweiz, in 2020, for rooftop installations of 100 to 300 kWp, these costs amounted to an average of CHF 1,113 (€1,097)/kWp and for installations of 300-1,000 kWp to an average 945 CHF (931 €)/kW.By way of comparison, the specific costs for a carport type installation were in a wide range, generally ranging from 2,000 CHF (1972 €) to around 3,500 CHF (3451 €) per kWp.Costs below CHF 2,000/kWp could only be achieved for very large projects of several MW.In addition, the grid injection premiums do not cover, with rare exceptions, the capex of the facilities, which is why the authors insist on the benefit of favoring on-site self-consumption for neighboring buildings and for electromobility.But given its significant potential, the study considers that the installation of solar shades should be the subject of reinforced support from governments, like what is done in other European countries.This content is copyrighted and you may not reuse it without permission.If you wish to collaborate with us and reuse our content, please contact our editorial team at the following address: editors@pv-magazine.com.Please pay attention to our community charter.Your email address will not be published.Mandatory fields are marked with *Save my name, email and site in the browser for my next comment.By submitting this form you agree that pv magazine will use your data for the purpose of publishing your comment.Your personal data will only be disclosed or transmitted to third parties for spam filter purposes or if necessary for the technical maintenance of the website.A transfer of your data to third parties for any other reason can only take place if it is justified by data protection legislation, or 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