In the past, we talked about solar carports, which can serve as a surface for solar panels or also charge an electric vehicle underneath. Rather than charging vehicles, however, the solar panels added on top of storage facilities and nearby carports make the buildings energy-efficient.

Storage can be at home or in a separate facility. In the National Geographic piece, it’s the latter. But, no matter where you decide to store your items, a few solar panels can fit on the roof.

In the case of the article, an old warehouse was repurposed into a storage facility, which in general requires minimal energy to operate. The roof of the structure was outfitted with solar panels. Carports were additionally added to the area and also support solar panels. The energy being captured and converted by the panels ends up making the facilities self-sufficient.

Such a solution can be replicated at home with the right materials. First off, invest in a storage shed or carport that’s strong enough to support solar panels. Metal carports, which can be up to 30 feet wide, are one option. For full, all-around coverage, consider a garage kit, which includes all wood and metal parts to construct an enclosed shelter. No matter the shelter used, the solar panels can be added to the top.

Of course, carports and portable storage buildings aren’t the only locations for solar panels. When it comes to powering a home, the solar cells can be placed anywhere: on top of the house, on a shed, or in any other location on the property.

Solar carports have taken off in the United States and Great Britain and appear to be catching on in Germany. In an effort to make green power more pervasive, the country started an incentive program for solar panel installations on existing structures, including carports. Because carports are often designed with peak or flat roofs, adding solar panels is as simple as installing them onto the surface. Once the panels on the roof of a carport are installed and operating, they generate an incentive of 28.74 cents (Euro) or $0.41 USD. Over a few years, the incentives end up saving an individual the cost of the carport.

In the U.S., solar carports for powering buildings or vehicles are becoming more pervasive. For an individual, solar carports are now portable, but on a larger level, the panels are being added to factories, school districts, and general parking lots. While, in all of these instances, the solar power generated from the carports’ panels displace the amount from a grid, the electricity is not enough to fully keep a building running. But, over time, the electricity ends up lowering a business’ or organization’s electric bill and can fully charge an electric or hybrid vehicle.

In Tennessee, the carports being installed are a panel and charger station. As we’ve seen in the past on this blog, this type of carport is rare. According to this article linked from CalFinder, these solar carports, by Outpost Solar, can fit 12 vehicles under and charge electric cars. Installed in Pulaski, the carports are the town’s first charging station and, essentially, look like traditional carports, with the exception of the photovoltaic panels on the roof. Because electric vehicles are becoming increasingly common – the article even mentions various manufacturers developing such models – such charging stations will become a necessity at least within the next 10 years.

While the charging station in Pulaski is a small step in the right direction, Kikkoman decided to take a significant step to powering one of its factories by solar energy. According to an article published on Reuters recently, the Kikkoman factory added a 160kw photovoltaic system in the form of carports to its facility in Folsom. More specifically, the system consists of 576 185-watt solar modules that will generate 150,000kwh for the factory. If a certain portion of the energy from the system isn’t used, it goes into the area’s electric grid.

Both of these news stories bring up a valid point in the increasing usage of these carports: design and installation. While we’ve mentioned the practicality of a carport’s shape for supporting photovoltaic panels, the installation for the system takes less time. Much like a carport, the panels are attached to the roof of the structure, and only the carport portion needs to be set up.

To follow up on this story, these carports created by the New York Institute of Technology were in the news again. Last month, the school’s experiment was given an award by the Solar Industry Awards. They were granted a 6KC award for designing and installing these prototype solar carports.

Although other solar carports have been installed on Long Island since then, these by NYIT stand out for their practicality for the future. As we’ve seen in many instances regarding solar carports, the energy generated by them displaces that of the electric grid used by a nearby building. Although, in the short term, this lessens the dependence on the electric grid and other forms of energy (nuclear and coal, for example), it doesn’t address the issue of electric cars, particularly as domestic and overseas car manufacturers have been developing hybrid and fully electric vehicles.

With the solar carports by NYIT, vehicles can be charged underneath through solar energy. The car will then be able to go a certain distance, before needing another change. In the case of the students involved in this experiment, they would charge the cars at school and at home.

None of these carports are entirely practical on an individual level, however. Recently, a portable solar carport was introduced by Phat Energy at Dwell on Design 2010. Called the Phatport, this portable carport will act as a traditional carport or can be used as a patio cover and generates 2.5 kW of solar energy.

Being introduced recently, the Phatport has already been experiencing orders, but production for more models won’t actually start until later in the summer. Aside from the metal frame large enough for a car and a solar panel, the Phatport will have additional features, such as interior lights, outlets, EV chargers, and a column design. The product will come preassembled and the price, at the moment, hovers around $37,000.

Do you think that this type of solar carport seems practical? On the surface, the design makes protecting your car and generating solar energy more accessible for the average person looking to be more energy-efficient. However, when it comes to the design of a carport, the Phatport appears a bit flimsy. Additionally, there appears to be no mentioning of which materials make up the carport’s frame. Will it be galvanized or powder-coated steel? If the latter, do you think purchasing a less sturdy carport with photovoltaic panels is worth the $37,000 price tag?

A similar development in the use of solar carports was in the news recently. The San Ramon Valley Unified School District decided to start using solar power in its middle and high schools. According to the linked article, photovoltaic panels were added to six schools in the district through a $23.2 million contract with SunPower Corp. The setup is designed to be up and running some time during the 2011-12 school year. These solar panels will replace two-thirds of the electricity the schools use currently.

Carports, of course, will be the setup of choice for the solar panels, and these will be added to school parking lots. However, as mentioned in the article, the district had to decide whether adding solar carports would be beneficial in the long term, particularly for savings with electricity. The photovoltaic panels have a 17-year warranty and, within this time, the energy replacement will go up from two-thirds to 95 percent of the power. If not, SunPower will need to reimburse the school district for a portion of its contract.

One of the latest solar carport systems to hit the news is the SmartPark, which received its first US installation recently by Martifer Solar in Lancaster, California. This solar carport system was funded by a grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and assists with the local transportation system. The system, itself, is designed to shade 110 vehicles and covers 35,000 square feet. The carports generate 368kW of power and consist of multiple 300kW modules and a smaller roof mounted system.

As you can see from the picture added to the article, the design of these SmartPark carports is no different from that of ordinary metal carports, particularly those designed to cover a large area. The image indicates that, while each shelter has a sturdy metal frame and roof, on top of each is several photovoltaic panels designed to absorb the sun’s energy and convert it into power. The structure, essentially, is a benefit to everyone using it. Those using the building below can shade their cars under the shelter during the day, and the carport provides an alternative energy source for the town.

Although we’ve seen solar carports in many other parts of the country, this is the second instance of using solar energy in such a fashion in a relatively small area. In this plan to add solar carports to the seven largest parking lots in Suffolk County, the Long Island Power Authority and enXco, a wind and solar project developer from California, are creating the plan. So far, the areas that will have such carports are various government complexes and Long Island Railroad station lots. These carports will be used only for clean energy to the county power grid – not for powering electric vehicles as of yet.

What makes carports so ideal as a source for clean energy? As you can see from the picture with the article in the link above, the carports are designed much like ordinary metal carports, with peaked roofs and enough space to fit several cars below. As the metal shelter protects the vehicles from the rain and UV ray exposure, the solar panels on top of the carport use the energy from the sun to power the electric grid. While which buildings that will be powered by this clean energy aren’t specified in the article, these seven lots with solar carports will be displacing 50 megawatts of the overall electricity with clean energy.

The company behind the solar panels, Solar Vision, LLC, received a grant of $335,328 in federal stimulus dollars for building solar carports on the city’s new police station, according to the article. More specifically, the solar-powered structure that will be set up includes four carport structures supporting photovoltaic panels in the police station parking lot. These will, then, generate 122,312 kilowatts of power per year, which would cover 15 to 20 percent of the police station’s power and, over 20 years, would save the station about $75,000 dollars. So, in terms of alternative energy projects, why wouldn’t this be beneficial to the city?

The project costs a large sum of money to create and the amount from it won’t even be made up within 20 years. In fact, the total amount will be made up in electricity reduction in 90 years, at the current pace. Additionally, the project only powers less than a quarter of the police station. While having primarily solar power is one goal of alternative energy, such a project to power a portion of a police station isn’t really rational. Instead, the city of Columbus should be finding ways to incorporate alternative energy sources without such a high price tag.

This news item and others about solar carports opens up the question, why carports for solar energy? While we have discussed how the structure of a carport is ideal for supporting photovoltaic panels, these solar carports can or will serve an eventual purpose of not only powering buildings – and reducing money spent on electricity over time – but any electric cars will be able to use this energy, as well. In essence, every building will need to use solar power in the future to power itself and save on electricity costs, while reducing its carbon foot print at the same time.

As more buildings, particularly schools and office buildings like we’ve seen so far, expand into efficient energy options, will there be more of a need for carports? In the present, perhaps, as using a carport for photovoltaic panels often has a double use. Workers or students use it to park under, and the photovoltaic panels, supported and angled by the carport, absorb enough of the sun’s energy to power a building or vehicles. Unless another system is developed, the design of a carport seems most ideal for this solar energy option in the present.