France recently approved new legislation through the Senate that will require all parking lots with spaces for at least 80 vehicles to be covered by solar panels. This includes both existing and new parking lots of this size.

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The new legislation is a part of the effort from president Emmanuel Macron’s plan to invest in renewables and multiply the amount of solar energy produced in the country by 10. The country is also aiming to double the power from wind farms.

Now, smaller parking lots that have between 80 and 400 spaces will have five years, starting July 1, 2023, to comply with the new law. Parking lots with more than 400 spaces will need to have at least half of the surface area of the lot done within three years of next July.

The plan aims to target large parking lots, and they believe it could generate up to 11 gigawatts and power millions of homes. Public Sénat clarified that there are exceptions for parking lots that are used for trucks carrying heavy goods or parking areas in historic or protected areas. There will reportedly be penalties for lots who do not comply.

Projects worldwide are developing new ways to utilize solar panels and move away from dirty fossil fuels. Architecture students in Barcelona just built a solar-powered greenhouse that uses 50 percent less energy than it produces. Virginia is transforming abandoned coal mines into solar farms, and a start-up is helping retrofit old buildings in Brooklyn to use clean energy. The latest climate report from the IPCC is a final warning for governments around the world about Global warming, so it’s great to see countries taking the initiative and working towards a renewable future!

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