Sun over the city: How solar pergolas and solar parking lots are conquering the urban energy transition

The energy transition is getting a new face – right above our heads

Transparent solar cells: This ingenious technology is changing our city centers

While rooftop solar installations and vast open-field solar parks have long been commonplace, a gigantic, previously untapped potential is now coming into focus for urban and energy planners: parking lots, pedestrian zones, and public squares. With innovative, semi-transparent solar modules, these already sealed surfaces are being transformed into multifunctional solar pergolas and shade-providing, high-tech carports. They not only generate clean electricity for directly charging electric vehicles but also enhance urban spaces architecturally and provide protection from the elements. What was dismissed as an expensive niche idea just a few years ago is now rapidly developing into a multi-billion-dollar market. Driven by technological breakthroughs and new political momentum in Europe, solar parking lots and solar pergolas are on the verge of fundamentally revolutionizing urban infrastructure.

Why the future of photovoltaics lies not on the roof, but above our heads

The idea is strikingly simple and therefore revolutionary: Why shouldn't the vast areas in our city centers occupied by parking lots, pedestrian zones, and public squares simultaneously provide shade and generate electricity? The answer lies in a technology poised to fundamentally transform the renewable energy market: semi-transparent solar modules integrated into elegant pergola structures and parking lot canopies. What was ridiculed as an architectural gimmick just a few years ago is developing into a multi-billion-dollar market segment with double-digit growth rates.

A market on the move

The global market for solar carports and solar canopies was valued at US$467 million in 2024 and is projected to grow to US$1.188 billion by 2032, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.6 percent. Alternative market analyses offer an even more aggressive estimate, forecasting a market volume of US$1.08 billion as early as 2025, with a CAGR of 10.6 percent until 2033. Other analysts estimate the solar carport market at around US$630 million by 2025, with a growth rate of 9.1 percent. The discrepancies in these figures stem from differing definitions of the market segment, but the trend is consistent and clear: this market segment is growing faster than most other areas of photovoltaics.

The commercial sector dominates demand, accounting for over 60 percent of all installations. North America and Europe lead in market penetration, while the Asia-Pacific region – driven by China's dominant position in photovoltaic manufacturing with over 80 percent of global production capacity – is considered the fastest-growing region. The increasing prevalence of electric vehicles further boosts demand, as solar parking lots offer ideal infrastructure for integrating charging stations.

The technology behind the breakthrough

The core of the innovation lies in the semi-transparent solar modules, which are based on double glazing of the solar cells. With this technology, the individual solar cells themselves remain opaque. The transparency effect is created by the translucent space between the individual solar cells within the module. By using polycrystalline or monocrystalline solar cells in glass-glass modules, different degrees of light transmission can be achieved, and the color of the surrounding glass can also be customized.

These modules can be designed to offer the desired level of light transmission and energy generation without compromising the aesthetic quality of the roof. However, there is a trade-off: transparent solar modules generally have lower performance compared to standard solar modules. The higher the light transmission, the lower the energy yield. The challenge lies in finding the optimal balance between these two parameters for the specific application.

A significant regulatory hurdle is obtaining building code approval. Overhead glazing is subject to stringent safety requirements regarding penetration resistance and residual load-bearing capacity. To date, only a few manufacturers have received the necessary approval for overhead installation of their glass-glass modules. This creates barriers to market entry, but also offers a considerable competitive advantage to those manufacturers who possess the certification.

The solar pergola as an urban design element

In urban areas, solar pergolas are increasingly seen as multifunctional infrastructure elements that extend far beyond simply generating electricity. They can serve as shade-providing canopies in public squares and pedestrian zones, protecting passersby from sun exposure and light rain. They offer pleasant outdoor spaces and can function as meeting points and social areas. At the same time, they generate clean energy that can be used locally or fed into the grid.

A particularly promising approach is the combination of solar pergolas with building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). These systems are not only energy sources but also elements of the construction process, as they are directly integrated into the urban infrastructure. In conjunction with smart grid technologies, they could play a central role in decentralized and sustainable energy supply in urban areas. They could become part of an integrated system that combines energy generation, storage, and management to respond to the dynamic demands of urban life.

The connection to electromobility is another key aspect. By integrating charging stations for electric vehicles into the pergola structure, solar pergolas become sustainable energy hubs. Visitors can park their vehicles under the roof and simultaneously use clean, locally generated energy for charging. Manufacturers like Hörmann already offer systems with factory-integrated wallbox mounts, allowing for easy and visually appealing integration of the charging infrastructure.

Solar canopy: Solar-covered parking lot - Image: Wiederspan.Solar

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• Solar-covered parking space for your solar carport park customer projects

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Photovoltaic systems for large parking lots - Image: Wiederspan.Solar

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The City Solar Carport - with enhanced impact and vandalism protection - Image: Xpert.Digital

Advantages at a glance

• Support & Made in Germany
• Modular & scalable (for 2, 100, 1,000 and more parking spaces)
• Truly waterproof
• Integrated water drainage / concealed rain gutter
• Vandalism protection, optionally with integrated impact protection
• Compatible with all common solar modules
• City Design available in aluminium and 3 different colours
• Depending on the level of self-consumption (degree of self-sufficiency), amortization is possible within 6 years
• Long service life (aluminum substructure)
• 30-year (!) performance guarantee on bifacial and semi-transparent double-glass solar modules (25-year product guarantee)
• Reduction of urban heat islands
• Building-integrated photovoltaics
• Ideally suited for transparent and translucent double-glass solar modules with overhead mounting approval!

The gigantic area potential

Scientists from Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen University have determined the potential of parking lot photovoltaics in Germany alone through a geospatial area analysis. The results are impressive: Existing parking lots with more than 35 spaces have a technical potential of 24.6 gigawatts, those with more than 50 spaces 22.2 gigawatts, and those with more than 100 spaces 16.5 gigawatts. North Rhine-Westphalia has the greatest potential at five gigawatts.

These figures illustrate the scale of unused land. Parking lot photovoltaic systems offer a decisive advantage over traditional ground-mounted systems: they utilize already sealed surfaces twice and require no additional land use. The improved image for operators is an additional positive factor, as they can implement effective CO₂ reduction measures and meet their climate protection obligations. Furthermore, the roof protects the parking lot surface and shields vehicles from the elements.

Regulatory dynamics in Europe

Political support for parking lot photovoltaics is gaining momentum across Europe, with France playing a pioneering role. In July 2023, France introduced a comprehensive PV mandate for parking lots, covering both new and existing parking areas of 1,500 square meters or more. This regulation is the most extensive of its kind in Europe and sets an important benchmark for other countries.

In Germany, PV installations are currently mandatory for new parking lots in five federal states: Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Lower Saxony, and Schleswig-Holstein. However, these obligations only apply to new construction, not existing buildings, which significantly limits the potential. The first solar package, adopted by the federal government in May 2024, included parking lot PV in the sub-segment of "special solar installations," with a specific maximum subsidy of 9.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. Whether the roof is classified as a structural element continues to determine eligibility for subsidies.

Baden-Württemberg is demonstrating how government funding can work: The state is providing €1.5 million for ten projects in the "Parking Lot Roofs with Photovoltaics" program. However, compared to rooftop systems, parking lot PV systems incur approximately 50 percent higher costs due to the specialized substructure. With a feed-in tariff of only seven cents per kilowatt-hour, installation is only worthwhile if synergy effects are utilized, such as charging electric vehicles or reducing grid electricity consumption.

Industry innovators

Companies like Park-Solar rely on innovative lightweight constructions modeled after suspension bridges, requiring a fraction of the footprint and structural volume of conventional systems. Optimizing the supporting structure allows for better utilization of steel's properties, enabling smaller foundations and reducing the amount of concrete needed. This is particularly important for retrofitting existing parking lots, as it preserves the view of key points of interest.

In the field of smart city integration, a James Dyson Award-winning project demonstrates where the future could lead: an intelligent pergola with a dual-axis tracking system that follows the sun's position in real time, combined with wireless charging stations for smartphones, charging points for e-scooters and bicycles, and LED lighting for nighttime. The integration of sensor technology and intelligent controls transforms the static canopy into a dynamic infrastructure element.

Looking ahead

The future of solar pergolas and solar parking spaces lies in scaling and regulatory harmonization. The decreasing costs of photovoltaic technology, the increasing demand for sustainable infrastructure, and the growing prevalence of electric vehicles create a perfect synergy for market growth. The challenge lies in harmonizing building regulations, accelerating permitting processes, and creating an economic framework that also considers existing structures. If France's mandatory PV system becomes the European standard, the market for solar roofs could multiply within just a few years. Public acceptance of photovoltaics increasingly depends on whether already sealed surfaces are used more intelligently. Solar pergolas and solar parking spaces offer precisely this solution, making the energy transition visible, tangible, and directly beneficial to citizens' everyday lives for the first time.