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richg0404 t1_izf96pa wrote

Reply to comment by itallendsintears in Residents ‘Horrified’ Over Proposed Solar Farm Near Waltham/Lexington Line by ak47workaccnt

Just because they put solar panels up doesn't mean there would be no winter maintenance on the lots. The snow doesn't disappear. It will slide off of the panels and need to be cleaned up or it will melt and re-freeze as ice on the asphalt. There would need to me more salting or sanding because they owners do not want someone slipping on an icy lot and getting injured.

And imagine the nightmare is the snow slides off the panels and lands on someone.

I'm just saying it isn't as simple as it seems.

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Miami_Vice-Grip t1_izfhopb wrote

I mean, I'm sure they account for this when they design/install them. Some of you folks are talking about this like it hasn't already been a thing for several years in many places.

Like all these "what ifs" can be answered by just looking at the current state of the art because it already exists. And besides, if a random redditor can come up with a concern or question, I'm sure the professional construction and solar developers have also considered it already. Are mistakes made anyway across the industry anyway? Sure. Is that a reasonable excuse to prohibit new development? Not really.

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richg0404 t1_izg30kj wrote

If course they've thought about these issues.

My point was that it isn't just a matter of putting up the solar panels over a parking lot and there is a ton of savings because they no longer have to plow and salt.

It has been done in plenty of lots so there is no reason to think that it can't be done in others. I too would rather see it in lots than on cleared first plots .

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Miami_Vice-Grip t1_izgi3id wrote

> My point was that it isn't just a matter of putting up the solar panels over a parking lot and there is a ton of savings because they no longer have to plow and salt.

...

>It has been done in plenty of lots so there is no reason to think that it can't be done in others.

So what's your point again? You literally just acknowledged that it's already happening and hasn't had any of the issues you're supposedly concerned about, right? I think we're past the need to bring up already accounted for "flaws" in their implementation, so to me it seems like you're being either an anti-solar fearmonger at worst or a negative nancy for no actual reason at best.

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richg0404 t1_izgnhfr wrote

Yeah, the places that have done it have dealt with the issues but it wasn't as easy as the posters on reddit seem to think it is.

There are plenty of responses in this thread saying essentially "put the panels in parking lots and you'll save tons of money because the snow won't land on the ground.

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itallendsintears t1_izfg9ai wrote

Honestly my local coop has the parking lot like this and I can’t really remember what it looked like during snow last year. I will keep this in mind and observe (it’s a fair point)

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richg0404 t1_izg39jw wrote

My local hospital has it and I know that on the days after a snow storm I've gotten dripped on but haven't had any snow fall on me.

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bigolebucket t1_izgohbt wrote

I’ve designed several of these. The plowing and maintenance cost impacts are pretty small compared to the lease rates and energy sales/savings. On the one hand, yes it can reduce the amount of water and snow, making it to the pavement. But on the other hand, you’re limited buy some of the additional columns in the parking lots. Height can be a restriction, but they’re generally put at about 14 feet leading edge for fire access, as well as plowing access.

There’s also a huge range in the water and snow management strategies. You can use ones that have a deck or gasketing solution and are V-shaped to collect all water and snow and then funnel these via gutters and downspouts into an existing drainage system. You can also do some or none of those things.

One benefit that is universal is the shade when it’s sunny, especially in the summer. That’s a nice perk.

But at the end of the day, it’s really the cost to build it, the lease payment to the owner, and the energy savings for the offtakeer that govern the economics. And you need to build a giant steel superstructure with a 15 foot deep caisson foundations which makes these significantly more expensive than rooftops or ground mounts.

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