Solar car parks: The sleeping giant sitting on our doorstep

Article by Jenny Danson - CEO, Healthy Homes Hub

Imagine unlocking clean energy, community income, and EV infrastructure without laying a single extra slab of concrete.

That’s the potential of solar canopies on car parks, a fast-emerging solution already being scaled in Europe and increasingly recognised in the UK as a low-disruption, high-impact opportunity.

The UK Government’s recent consultation on mandating solar canopies for new outdoor car parks (and retrofitting existing ones) has closed, but the conversation is only just beginning, especially for local authorities and planning professionals.

Because the big question is now: are we ready to move from grey space to green power?

Why car parks? Why now?

Let’s start with the numbers:

• The UK has 12 million surface car park spaces
• 50% of these are publicly owned
• Most are in urban, energy-hungry areas
• They’re already built – no land-take, no NIMBYism
• Planning impact is minimal – low visual sensitivity

As the Government's Clean Power 2030 Action Plan outlines, we’re now in the phase where clean energy must go beyond generation. It must support wider system flexibility and help displace fossil fuels in other sectors like transport.

Car parks offer the perfect convergence of energy generation, storage, and EV charging, all on infrastructure we already have.

France is already leading

The French Government has mandated that all new and existing car parks over 80 bays install solar canopies, targeting 6-10GW of clean power over four years.

That’s the equivalent of 6-8 nuclear reactors’ worth of electricity, using nothing more than the tops of parked cars.

What’s the opportunity for UK local authorities?

Schools, leisure centres, libraries, housing estates. These assets have car parks.And many of those spaces could generate clean energy and income.

Off-balance-sheet funding models already exist. One school installed a 290kW system using a private finance model, with:

• Just £130 in planning fees
• Zero capital costs
• Annual savings of c£22,000 on energy bills
• Additional revenue from EV charging
   

Risk? Passed to the provider. Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) place maintenance and performance obligations with the supplier, ideal for public bodies facing stretched resources.

From consultation to action: what needs to change?

Although the Government is reviewing planning policy and Permitted Development Rights (PDRs) to encourage solar and EV infrastructure, planning teams can help by:

• Updating local plans to identify car parks as priority energy assets
• Creating template policies to simplify approvals
• Engaging estate managers or use technology now to map viable sites
• Partnering with funders and suppliers to trial PPA or lease-based models
• Aligning EV, decarbonisation, and health strategies under a shared local ambition
   

Why housing estates matter most.

It’s not just about civic buildings.

Solar car parks could deliver real value in social housing estate. By using under-utilised parking areas to generate local energy, provide EV access, and keep shared spaces cooler in summer, local authorities can link planning decisions directly to improved community outcomes.

Solar canopies aren’t a silver bullet. But they are a silver-lined opportunity.

This isn’t just a net-zero conversation, it’s a public asset one.

And with the consultation closed, now is the moment for local authorities to lead from the front.

The UK doesn’t need another ambitious national target that fails to land locally. It needs real, scalable, place-based action.

What could next steps look like?:

• Conduct a portfolio scan: Where are your surface car parks? Who owns them?
• Speak to legal and estates business teams: What is your appetite for PPAs or lease-based finance?
• Get planning ready: Could you fast-track canopies in your next local plan refresh?
• Connect the dots: Link this to housing, air quality, and EV delivery goals.
   

Let’s turn the UK's ‘grey space’ into a clean energy movement... one parking space at a time.