Solar carports are popping up everywhere

My 2014 Nissan LEAF parked under 600 kW solar carport at Kaiser Permanente's Centennial, Colo. location.
My 2014 Nissan LEAF parked under a 600 kW solar carport at Kaiser Permanente’s Centennial, Colo. location.

editors-blog-entry3Solar carports — which sometimes cover three uses and always combine at least two — are increasingly popular, including places outside of California, which probably has hundreds of carports (I write “probably” because, as far as I know, no one is keeping track of the number of carports in California, in the United States, or worldwide — sure would be interesting if they did…)

At a minimum, solar carports both generate clean, green electricity AND provide shelter from the elements: Rain, snow and sunshine.

Some solar carports incorporate EV charging stations as well, offeringĀ those with electric vehicles an opportunity to Drive on Sunshine šŸ™‚

Growth in solar carports can be seen here in the Greater Denver area at my health care provider, Kaiser Permanente. Over the past 18 months, Kaiser has installed large solar carports at two of the facilities I sometimes go to, and has seven solar carports in Colorado.

Kaiser touts its use of solar energy via its parking lot solar carport at the Arapahoe (Colorado) Kaiser in Centennial.
Kaiser touts its use of solar energy via its parking lot solar carport at the Arapahoe (Colorado) Kaiser in Centennial.

They are truly impressive in size, with hundreds of panels. Both provide 55 percent of the annual electricityĀ for the Kaiser buildingsĀ next to them.

These particular solar carports do not have EV charging stations. But they’re impressive – and they make me smile every time I park my 2014 All-Electric Nissan LEAF underneath them, which I just did again this morning.

How about you: Where are solar carports and/or solar-charged EV charging stations sprouting up near you?