The Financial Viability of Solar Photovoltaic Canopies as Urban Climate Change Mitigation: An Analysis of the Potential Utilization of Public Space in Boston, Massachusetts

Abstract

We model the electrical power generation potential, calculate the associated avoided emissions and conduct an economic valuation of a scenario of large scale photovoltaic canopy implementation in metro Boston, Massachusetts on publicly managed parking real-estate operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority. The results of this work demonstrate that 102.4 MWh of electricity may be generated by such a program which is equal to nearly 0.013% of total electricity demand in the state. Annual CO 2 , NO and SO 2 emissions avoided in this scenario amounts to 53.7 tonnes of CO 2 , 46.5 kg of NO, and 107.1 kg of SO 2 . Despite the substantial amount of power production potential we find that such a scenario is not economically viable under current market conditions and using conventional financing mechanisms with a net present value of -1.4 Billion U.S. dollars.