Solar “Forest” Needs Thinning

This solar charging forest has too many "trees" to be effective

Electric vehicles are shaping up to be the next big thing.  Among several important considerations is constructing infrastructure that can assist with recharging cars during work hours, etc.

As shown to the left, one designer – Neville Marr – came up with an idea of a solar charging forest, comprised of PV solar panels and plug-in stations that can serve multiple uses of a parking lot, recharging station and shading for vehicles from the elements.  Yet, as beautiful and futuristic as it appears, the solar forest needs thinning to be effective.

The arrangement of the “trees” is such that a significant portion of the PV panels are shaded.  Yes, its pretty to look at, incorporating an arboreal canopy for the cars below.  But the solar panels cannot function as designed with even a slight bit of shade.  According to Michael Bloch, a solar consultant in Australia:

“If one quarter of the panel cell area is shaded, the juice being cranked out will be virtually nil.”

Even at home, people who install solar panels can lose 20-40% of their solar output due to shade.  Surprisingly, 10% shading of a solar panel may result in 50% loss of efficiency, or worse!

The bottom line is that you need to see the trees instead of the forest in this instance.  Each individual solar panel canopy needs sufficient separation to maximize its solar electricity output.  Then you can happily park and ride, and returned to a full-charged electric vehicle and the end of the day.

Tags: electric vehicle recharding station, shade solar array, shading solar panels, solar charging forest