Apparently, California ranks as the nation's largest state when it comes to solar installations, but, rather surprisingly, New Jersey takes the second spot away from such sun-rich states as those situated in the southwestern part of the country and also ranks in the top ten worldwide. The state currently has over 2,500 installations and will soon be adding two more. Nexus Properties has announced that new solar installations will be installed on the rooftops of Clinton Commons and Station Plaza Park & Ride, which flank the local Amtrak station. According to the press release pasted after the break, each roof-mounted solar field will have six-hundred-sixty-two individual solar panels which will measure 2.5 feet by 5 feet. These new installations will combine to reduce electric consumption at the garages by 467,500 kwh annually.

Bill Harris, vice president of operations for Nexus envisions a day when "electric vehicles gain in popularity, [and] we'll be able to convert additional parking spaces to docking stations." There is quite a bit more information, so be sure to hit the break for all the details.

Considering how ugly parking lots are and the negative impact that they have on our environment, the idea of sprucing them up with solar coverings and so-called "solar trees" seems to have merit. Robert Noble is taking the idea and running with it in a parking lot in San Diego for Kyocera.

The solar tree concept has a single "trunk" and, like a tree, has a canopy of solar cells on top. Two electric cars can park next to and plug into a single solar tree. In addition, canopies covered by solar cells can provide shade to the cars parked below in addition to giving off electricity for the building or the cars below. Truly sounding like a win-win scenario for the consumer parked below and the owner of the building, parking lots featuring solar power could increase in number if and when plug-in hybrids and pure electrics become widely available. At least, we hope so!

[Source: ZDNet blogs, thanks Domenick]