Why car parks are the hottest space in solar power

There's more than just cars and empty spaces in this car park. Huge arrays of angled solar panels sit atop jet black steel supports, soaking up the sun and shading the vehicles beneath.

Outside the offices of a major car manufacturer in the south of England, there are now more than 2,000 panels in total with a peak capacity of just under 1 megawatt (MW).

That's enough to power hundreds of homes.

"They are looking stunning," declares Guy Chilvers, business development manager at SIG, the firm that supplied the solar canopies.

These structures make car parks more visually appealing, he insists, while admitting, "I would say that".

Solar car parks or car ports enable electricity production in open spaces that tend to be positioned conveniently near to energy-guzzling facilities such as hospitals, shopping centres or offices. The canopies have additional benefits in that they protect cars from rain and snow, or hot sun in the summer.

In a drive to boost clean energy production, the French Senate recently approved legislation that makes it mandatory for all existing and new car parks with 80 spaces or more to be covered by solar panels.