6 ms·

Ever since I first saw one of these -- several years ago, near the Googleplex [1] -- I have had this idea for a real-estate venture. You're welcome to take it o

by fernly 12y ago

Ever since I first saw one of these -- several years ago, near the Googleplex [1] -- I have had this idea for a real-estate venture. You're welcome to take it on, because I'll never get around to it. Step 1, go into AZ, somewhere not too far from Phoenix or Tucson, buy some cheap desert land near a freeway exit. Step 2, grade the land and gravel it, never mind asphalt, no need. Step 3, good high security fence around. Step 4, Put up solar panels like these, but raised good and high, 20ft clearance under. Step 5, advertise "Shaded RV Storage". Charge people a good rate for storing their RVs where they will not be so horribly sun-damaged, as many RVs are damaged by long-term sun exposure. Meanwhile selling power to the utility. And, bonus, put gutters along the lower edge of the tilted panels, leading to a buried cistern, collect rainwater water for pretty landscaping and for washing RVs (for a fee, your RV will be all sparkly clean when you come pick it up). Yer welcome. [1] Street view https://goo.gl/maps/2T8mZ https://goo.gl/maps/2T8mZ

kenrikm 12y ago
Feasible? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOZBrHqTJk4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOZBrHqTJk4
- tracker1 12y ago
  In the gp's post, he's talking about above ground mounting, similar to rooftop, and more like the parking lot coverage in tfa... in this case it's actually about a break even for the solar in 8-12 years usually... (feel good qualities not withstanding)... that covers the electrical usage for the lot's residents, at the very least. Assuming you are charging for the electricity... you are still making the lot rent, and on top of that, you can charge more for being a "green" lot (if the organic food market is any indication), which means you can charge over 20-30% more than standard lots... so your break even on investment is about 8-12 years, but you'll be making 20-30% more on the lot rent, which means you'll probably break even much sooner, and see a close to pure profit for 8-10 years after the investment paid for itself. It's not a bad system... this also doesn't account for states like Arizona and California that offer tax breaks and incentives for solar initiatives like this one.
baddox 12y ago
I suspect the trouble with the idea is that selling power to the grid and selling RV parkings becomes more difficult and costly as you get further from areas where real estate is desirable. There may be no point where the cost of land+panels and benefit from electricity+parking sales work out to be a reasonable investment.
prostoalex 12y ago
That's precisely what utilities are doing (well, without the RV storage part) https://gigaom.com/2015/01/20/a-special-report-the-rise-of-a-mega-solar-panel-farm-why-its-important/?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=facebook&utm_content=a-special-report-the-rise-of-a-mega-solar-panel-farm-why-its-important_904582 https://gigaom.com/2015/01/20/a-special-report-the-rise-of-a... You need to account for delivery risk (is there enough grid of enough capacity?), legislature risk (right now utilities are sort of forced to buy back the kilowatts, but in different legislative climate they might refuse or offer you an unreasonably low rate because hey, it's a buyer's market) and environmental risk (this will likely displace some native species like tortoise).
mrfusion 12y ago
Great idea. I always thought there's a lot you could mix with solar. How about wind and solar? Surely the shadows of the turbines wouldn't be that bad.
imgabe 12y ago
I drove between Tucson and Bisbee (about a 2 hour drive) last month, and the number of RV parking places there is just astounding. I could definitely see this working.
chiph 12y ago
The RV owners that boondock a lot usually have 700+ watts of solar capacity, and some of them are starting to add LiFePO4 batteries instead of AGM lead-acid. So you'd want some portion of that area open to the sky for them. But for those who don't have solar panels, this could be a good thing for them - they get shade, and the park has lower electricity costs (RVs typically have 30 or 50 amp electrical needs). Ideally you'd have some form of energy storage to supply power at night to them. The RV owners wouldn't even have to extend their awnings, if you did it right.

by fernly 12y ago

kenrikm 12y ago

Feasible? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOZBrHqTJk4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOZBrHqTJk4

tracker1 12y ago
In the gp's post, he's talking about above ground mounting, similar to rooftop, and more like the parking lot coverage in tfa... in this case it's actually about a break even for the solar in 8-12 years usually... (feel good qualities not withstanding)... that covers the electrical usage for the lot's residents, at the very least. Assuming you are charging for the electricity... you are still making the lot rent, and on top of that, you can charge more for being a "green" lot (if the organic food market is any indication), which means you can charge over 20-30% more than standard lots... so your break even on investment is about 8-12 years, but you'll be making 20-30% more on the lot rent, which means you'll probably break even much sooner, and see a close to pure profit for 8-10 years after the investment paid for itself. It's not a bad system... this also doesn't account for states like Arizona and California that offer tax breaks and incentives for solar initiatives like this one.

baddox 12y ago

I suspect the trouble with the idea is that selling power to the grid and selling RV parkings becomes more difficult and costly as you get further from areas where real estate is desirable. There may be no point where the cost of land+panels and benefit from electricity+parking sales work out to be a reasonable investment.

prostoalex 12y ago

That's precisely what utilities are doing (well, without the RV storage part) https://gigaom.com/2015/01/20/a-special-report-the-rise-of-a-mega-solar-panel-farm-why-its-important/?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=facebook&utm_content=a-special-report-the-rise-of-a-mega-solar-panel-farm-why-its-important_904582 https://gigaom.com/2015/01/20/a-special-report-the-rise-of-a... You need to account for delivery risk (is there enough grid of enough capacity?), legislature risk (right now utilities are sort of forced to buy back the kilowatts, but in different legislative climate they might refuse or offer you an unreasonably low rate because hey, it's a buyer's market) and environmental risk (this will likely displace some native species like tortoise).

mrfusion 12y ago

Great idea. I always thought there's a lot you could mix with solar. How about wind and solar? Surely the shadows of the turbines wouldn't be that bad.

imgabe 12y ago

I drove between Tucson and Bisbee (about a 2 hour drive) last month, and the number of RV parking places there is just astounding. I could definitely see this working.

chiph 12y ago

The RV owners that boondock a lot usually have 700+ watts of solar capacity, and some of them are starting to add LiFePO4 batteries instead of AGM lead-acid. So you'd want some portion of that area open to the sky for them. But for those who don't have solar panels, this could be a good thing for them - they get shade, and the park has lower electricity costs (RVs typically have 30 or 50 amp electrical needs). Ideally you'd have some form of energy storage to supply power at night to them. The RV owners wouldn't even have to extend their awnings, if you did it right.