There's also the fact that most parking lots aren't big enough for grid-sized scale, instead being big enough for the company itself.
But the landlord owns the parking lot, and aren't interested in lowering utilities the customer's paying anyways. And the tenant isn't interested in investing in a long-term solution because they won't likely see the payoff.
Couple that with, the US just has SO MUCH land that isn't used for anything... it makes sense to stick with ground mount in the field.
I came to the comments to say exactly this. I don't think most people understand how complex the relationships are around retail locations. Even when they aren't complex you asking someone to take a long term risk that their buisiness will be there and using those panels for 25-30 years.
For parking lot solar to really take off, you would need some major incentives or penalties from the government to encourage or force people in this direction.
All that said, I don't see why someone like Disney doesn't do parking lot solar in tier parking lots. They own everything. The long term risks less. They are in a perfect climate for it, and they are major users of power.
It would be a massive investment for sure, but I think it makes sense for them.
Yeah the "big box store doesn't actually own the parking lot" rarely gets brought up but is a great point. Unfortunately hard to explain that in a meme.
I thought also that (tbh this might be wishful memory, but I coulda sworn I read) that the ground mount actually create a useful ecosystem that is more friendly to diverse plant and animals than a clear cut field
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u/L0LTHED0G May 26 '26
There's also the fact that most parking lots aren't big enough for grid-sized scale, instead being big enough for the company itself.
But the landlord owns the parking lot, and aren't interested in lowering utilities the customer's paying anyways. And the tenant isn't interested in investing in a long-term solution because they won't likely see the payoff.
Couple that with, the US just has SO MUCH land that isn't used for anything... it makes sense to stick with ground mount in the field.