Kamer wants to cover parking spaces with solar panels

EPA Solar panels cover parking lots at Arizona State University in the US

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 19:26

The House of Representatives believes that parking areas should be covered with solar panels as much as possible. A proposal from D66 on this has been adopted with a large majority.

“Parking areas are now often large bare plains,” says D66 MP Raoul Boucke. “We can use that space much smarter. We can fill an area as large as 5,000 football fields with solar panels in one fell swoop.”

According to the party, the Netherlands has 50 square kilometers of parking lots and with a “conservative estimate” half of this can be covered. “For example, there is shadow effect and open spaces are needed for trees and lanes,” can be read in the press release that D66 has distributed about the proposal.

The party calculates that there is room for 16 million solar panels on 25 square kilometers. Each year these 2 million households can be supplied with electricity, or 3.7 million electric cars. According to a fact check that the AD previously did about this plan, the yield can be even greater. The newspaper comes out at 2.8 million households.

Resistance

In a text that was accidentally sent along with the press release, D66 does prepare for any opposition that may still come. The fear is that municipalities that own part of the parking lots will “get a little pissed off”, because they are “already doing their best”.

There may also be resistance from companies that have parking lots “because it requires quite a lot of effort”. Therefore, “a relatively large amount of subsidy will have to go”, according to the text.

Furthermore, D66 thought in advance that resistance could come from the House. “We make the SP angry that we are doing everything for the rich again (Tesla subsidy).” But that fear turned out to be unfounded; the SP voted in favor of the proposal this afternoon.

‘Very annoying’

The idea of ​​covering parking spaces was not introduced by D66 in the House of Representatives. BBB leader Caroline van der Plas asked the cabinet two years ago to investigate its potential. Minister Rob Jetten of Climate (D66) would come back to this this spring.

Van der Plas calls it very irritating that the D66 party is now submitting a proposal about it. “But that’s common practice here. And then keep saying that BBB never comes up with proposals.”

Boucke says in a response that he was “not sharp” that BBB was earlier. The MP states that the idea came from one of his employees. “And I started walking with that in my enthusiasm.”

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