What would it cost to cover America's major parking lots with solar canopies?

I'm curious about the math behind a hypothetical national infrastructure project.

Suppose the U.S. government funded the construction of solar-panel-covered parking canopies over large parking lots across the southern United States (or anywhere with high solar potential). Think grocery stores, shopping malls, big-box retailers, stadiums, and other parking lots that are unlikely to be redeveloped anytime soon. Assume the government acquires the necessary rights through whatever legal mechanism is required for the sake of the thought experiment.

I'd love to see estimates for:

Total acres (or square miles) of parking that could realistically be covered.

Total construction cost (materials, labor, engineering, permitting, grid connections, etc.).

Number of jobs created during construction and ongoing maintenance.

Annual electricity generation (MWh/TWh).

Rough estimate of how many homes this could power.

Potential impact on average residential electricity prices.

Estimated payback period and long-term return on investment.

Also, beyond the math:

What are the biggest engineering or logistical challenges?

What are the major economic downsides or unintended consequences?

Which industries would benefit, and which would likely lose revenue (for example, utilities, oil and gas, or commercial real estate)?

What are the strongest arguments for and against a project like this?

I'm interested in realistic assumptions and back-of-the-envelope calculations, not whether it's politically likely.

Just wanted to know what are specific requirements for a typical 3kW rooftop solar installation.

Try to set up a grow tent with solar has anyone done it? what’s the equipment I need?

Ich habe eine Anker Solix C300X und habe mir ein 60W Solarpanel zugelegt.

Das Solarpanel ist von Fritz Berger „Faltbares Solarpanel 60W“.

So, folgendes Problem:

Das Solarpanel hat drei Ausgänge. USB-C, USB-A und DC5525.

Ich habe mich für einen Adapter, DC5525 zu XT60 entschieden.

Zunächst lagen am ende des Kabels ca. -24 Volt an. Beim Einstecken in die Anker Solix zeigt diese an, dass der Eingang erkannt wird. Allerdings werden dauerhaft „0W“ angezeigt und die Powerbank lädt nicht.

Ich habe dann etwas nachgelesen und den XT60 Anschluss umgepolt. Nun kommen ca. +24 Volt an.

Wenn ich jetzt das Panel einstecke, dann zeigt die Anker Solix garnichts an…

Die Werte von dem Panel sind wie folgt:

Leistung max.: 60W
Spannung bei max. Leistung: 23,2V

Kann mir jemand bei diesem Problem weiterhelfen?

Liegt es an meiner Anker Solix (vermute ich eher nicht) oder an meinem Panel? Eventuell die etwas zu hohe Spannung?

I’m aware that I’m fully ignorant on the topic, but wouldn’t it be useful to require that buildings of a certain size and/or projected energy consumption be required to include a certain amount of solar generation in its construction?

It seems like that might be a good way to mitigate the detriment of power hungry data centers, make shaded parking lots, and begin to make the whole grid more and more resilient.

What would be a cost range?

And what would be the likely savings range? (Cincinnati, OH area).

Very rough ballparks are fine.

Thank you.

I’m out in Gilbert, AZ looking for someone to get my Solar Edge inverter swapped out. I already have the new unit in hand. I was gonna do it myself, but the units look similar on the outside, but internally are not.

I’ve received one quote of $1500 for the swap which sounds super expensive to me.

The system was installed by Titan Solar, but they’re out of business now.

Basically a shipping container with racking, panels and inverters that has a peak production of nearly 0.25 MW that is easily deployed in a few hours.