Given a choice, Los Angeles drivers avoid parking on the sunny rooftop levels of parking decks. Our client asked DMA to oversee the transformation of one such underutilized space into a source of solar energy. Our previous experience with the solar contractor and the complexities of photovoltaic installation on a post tensioned concrete structure moved the project forward swiftly. The extension of federal tax credits for investments in sustainable energy, along with a significant local utility rebate, sped estimated project payback to 2.6 years.

This solar installation, our second for the client, topped the previous system in size. Some 2,100 photovoltaic panels at five- and ten-degree tilts span approximately an acre of deck. The grid-connected, 495 kW system accumulates energy credits in the hottest daytime hours. At peak performance in the summer months, the system can offset almost all of the stand-alone parking structure’s energy needs.