Shading of existing parking lots of more than 1,500 m²

Verified 14 August 2025 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

According to a gradual schedule spread out from 1er july 2026 to 1er July 2028, existing car parks of more than 1,500 m² shall include shade boxes on half of their area. This threshold is different in Réunion and in French Guiana. These should include renewable energy production processes (panels photovoltaic). There are exceptions. We present you the information to know.

On the occasion of their construction or heavy renovations, the outdoor parking lots of more than 500 m² must also integrate on at least 50% of their surface shading and stormwater management devices. All information concerning these obligations is specified in a dedicated sheet.

Parks concerned

Outdoor parking lots of a area greater than 1,500 m² in Metropolitan France, in Guadeloupe and Martinique will have to be equipped, on at least half of their surface area, shade trees producing renewable energy.

The obligation will apply to outdoor parking lots of a area greater than 1,000 m² in Reunion and a area greater than 2,500 m² in Guyana.

The obligation will apply to parking lots existing.

The owners of these parks will be responsible for the implementation of this obligation. When the outdoor parking lot is managed in concession or public service delegation or as an application to an authorization to occupy the public domain, the obligations referred to in this form as applicable to the owner are applicable to the concessionaire, delegatee or holder of the authorization.

Please note

During their construction or heavy renovations, the outdoor parking lots of more than 500 m² must also integrate on at least 50% of their surface shading and stormwater management devices. A sheet dedicated to these obligations is available.

In some cases, parking lot owners adjacent may pool their obligation. Parking lots are considered adjacent when they belong to the same land unit.

Where several parking lots are adjacent, the owners may pool their obligation, by mutual agreement which they must attest.

Pooling is possible provided that the area of the shade covers corresponds to the sum of the shade covers to be settled on each of the car parks concerned.

The certificate of agreement indicates the technical conditions for the implementation of this mutualization.

Example :

2 parking lots of the same area are adjacent and their owners decide to pool their obligation. To meet the obligation to cover 50% of the total surface area of the 2 photovoltaic shade parks, they cover shade areas:

  • 20% of the area of the 1er park
  • And 80% of the area of the 2è park.

Thus, 50% of the total surface of the 2 parks will be covered with photovoltaic shades.

Calculation of the park area

The area of the park is calculated in integrating the following:

  • Locations intended for the parking of vehicles and their trailers, located outside the public highway, within a perimeter between the entry(s) and exit(s) of the park
  • Traffic lanes and routes, facilities and toll zones allowing access to these sites, within a perimeter between the entrance or entrances and the exit or exits of the park.

The area of the park does not take into account the following:

  • Green spaces, rest areas, storage areas, logistics, handling, loading and unloading areas
  • Parts where vehicles carrying dangerous goods are parked
  • Parts within 10 meters of a facility classified for environmental protection (ICPE)
  • Areas needed to implement the requirements for ICPEs
  • Lanes and routes used specifically by heavy goods vehicles with a total permissible laden weight (TAC) exceeding 7.5 tons.

FYI  

Some parking lots have exceptions, as detailed below.

General

The owner of the park must be able to demonstrate that it meets one of the criteria to qualify for an exception.

Please note

The obligation does not apply parking lots integrated into a building : indoor and underground parks.

The owner of the parking lot must justify by a certificate that the conditions for an exception are met.

This certificate shall include, in addition to the evidence it considers necessary to produce, a non-technical summary.

Here are the different conditions for qualifying for an exception.

Excessive costs of work

Costs that are excessive in relation to the value of the fleet

The obligation to install the devices shall not apply to parking lots for which it is demonstrated that their installation is impossible due to total non-tax costs of necessary works of an excessive nature.

The excessive nature of the cost of the works is established by the exceeding of one report between the total tax-free cost of the works necessary to comply with this obligation and:

  • The total cost excluding tax of the work to create, or renovate, this park in the absence of implementation of this obligation
  • The market value of that fleet on the day on which the application for exemption is made, in the case of an existing fleet and the sole purpose of the works is to satisfy that obligation.

The cost of the work shall cover, in particular, the following:

  • Supply of equipment and materials. In the case of shades with photovoltaic panels, these costs may include the past provision for the renewal of the inverters.
  • Installation and implementation
  • Realization of possible connections
  • In the case of an existing parking lot, the costs associated with the adaptation of the parking lot where they are necessary for the fulfillment of the obligation
  • Work required to overcome technical difficulty, including when such work is induced by compliance with regulations.

The cost of the work related to the installation of shades to be taken into account is reduced by the discounted revenues that can be obtained from the sale of the electricity produced during 20 years. These revenues are determined on the basis of an assessment of the facility’s deliverable and the support mechanisms for electricity generation based on the discount rate.

When the cost of the work is supported by a third-party investor, the cost of the work related to the installation of shade boxes corresponds to any remaining costs charged by the third-party investor to the owner.

So that the excessive character of the cost of the work is proven, this report must overtake 10%.

Costs compromising the economic viability of the park owner

The obligation to install the devices shall not apply to parking lots for which it is demonstrated that their installation is impossible due to costs affecting the economic viability of the owner of the parking lot.

This applies if the total tax-free cost of the work required to meet this obligation jeopardizes the economic viability of the owner of the parking lot or its initial financing capacity.

Technical Constraints

Technical constraints or insufficient sunlight reaching the profitability of the installation

The obligation to install the devices shall not apply to parking lots for which it is demonstrated that their installation is impossible due to technical constraints or insufficient sunshine generating significant investment costs damage to the profitability of this installation.

Profitability is significantly affected when the discounted cost of energy produced over a period of 20 years is greater than the value of the purchase price or reference price used to calculate the sales revenue electricity produced by the installation, multiplied by 1.2.

Discounted energy cost is defined as the discounted sum of the investment costs and the operating and maintenance costs of the system, divided by the discounted sum of the annual quantities of energy produced by the system.

The calculation of the discounted energy cost shall take into account discount rate fixed at 3%.

FYI  

The estimation of the discounted energy costs and discounted revenue must be the subject oftechnical and economic studies carried out by specialist companies.

Technical constraints related to the nature of the soil

The obligation to install the devices shall not apply to parking lots for which it is demonstrated that their installation is impossible due to technical constraints related to the nature of the soil, such as its geological composition or inclination.

Technical constraints related to the use of the park

The obligation to install the devices shall not apply to parking lots for which it is demonstrated that their installation is impossible due to technical constraints related to the use of the park of parking, making it incompatible with such an installation.

Technical impossibility not to aggravate a risk

The obligation to install the devices shall not apply to parking lots for which it is demonstrated that their installation is impossible due to thetechnical impossibility not to aggravateas a consequence of such an installation, a risk natural, technological, civil security or national security.

This applies to parks in one of the following situations:

  • Where vehicles carrying dangerous goods are parked
  • Constituting a facility classified for environmental protection (ICPE)
  • Where motorized vehicles with a gross vehicle weight (GVWR) exceeding 3,5 tons are parked and where technical and safety constraints would aggravate a technological risk in the event of installation of such devices.

Parks in protected areas

The obligation shall not apply to parking lots:

Parks shaded by trees or already producing renewable energy

Parks already shaded by trees

The obligation to install the devices does not apply to parking lots shaded by trees on at least half of its surface.

For the exception to apply, trees must:

  • Be wide canopy
  • Compete or be likely to compete with park shading
  • Be distributed throughout the park, at a rate of1 tree for 3 locations parking.
Parks already producing renewable energy

This obligation does not apply to outdoor parking lots for which the owner sets up, on those same lots, renewable energy production processes that do not require the installation of shades.

Example :

Wind turbines, geothermal, etc.

FYI  

The exception applies provided that these processes allow for equivalent production of renewable energy the one resulting from the equipment of 50% the area of the park in photovoltaic panels.

Parks planned for removal or conversion

The obligation to install the devices does not apply to parking lots does not apply to parking lots the total or partial removal or conversion of which is planned and for which a first authorization is issued before 1er July 2023.

If the conversion or removal is not foreseen in the context of a action or a development operation, the exception shall no longer apply in the absence of the commencement of work during the period of validity of that authorization. The owner of the park must then meet the obligations within a period of 2 years.

Please note

When the parking lot is removed or converted in part, the obligations shall apply to the remaining part of that fleet.

Justification of the exception

The owner of the parking lot must justify by a certificate that the conditions for an exception are met.

This certificate shall include, in addition to the evidence it considers necessary to produce, a non-technical summary.

In the case of a request for an exception for the installation of shade panels with photovoltaic panels, the certificate justifying the exception must also include a techno-economic study carried out by a company with:

  • A professional qualification or certification in accordance with the requirements of the support device to which the installation is eligible
  • Or a quality sign issued by an organization that has signed the “RGE Études” charter with ADEME and corresponding to the photovoltaic activity.

The attestation of qualification, professional qualification or quality available to the company which carried out the technical-economic study must be provided in the context of an application for a city planning authorization or, in the absence of a city planning authorization, during a possible inspection.

Please note

Neither this study nor this non-technical summary is required when the fleet meets one of the following exemption criteria:

  • Technological risks
  • Parks constituting an ICPE
  • Parks where vehicles carrying dangerous goods are parked.
  • It is impossible not to aggravate a national security risk.

Parks managed under concession or public service delegation

When the outdoor parking lot is managed under concession or public service delegation, the obligation to have shades on half the surface of the parking lot shall apply from:

  • Either from 1er July 2026, for parks which have been the subject of a new contract of concession or delegation or of its renewal between 1er July 2023 and 1er July 2026
  • Either from 1er July 2028, for parks which have been the subject of a new contract of concession or delegation or of its renewal between 2 July 2026 and 1er July 2028 or in the absence of the conclusion of a new contract or renewal.

Please note

An additional period may exceptionally be granted, subject to conditions, by the prefecture of the department.

Who shall I contact

Other parks

When the outdoor parking lot is not managed as a concession or public service delegation, the obligation to have shades on half of the parking area will apply from:

  • Either from 1er July 2026 for parks with an area equal to or greater than 10 000 m²
  • Either from 1er July 2028 for those whose area is included between 1,500 and 10,000 m².

Please note

An additional period may exceptionally be granted, subject to conditions, by the prefecture of the department.

Who shall I contact

Outdoor parking lots of a area greater than 1,500 m² shall be equipped, on at least 50% of their area,shade boxes producing renewable energy.

These shades must incorporate a renewable energy production process (photovoltaic panels) over their entire upper part providing shading.

In the event of failure to comply with the obligations to shade and produce renewable energy, the owner of the car park concerned risks a penalty up to:

  • €20,000, if the park is of an area included between 1,500 and 10,000 m²
  • €40,000, if the park is of an area greater than or equal to 10 000 m².

That penalty shall be proportionate to the seriousness of the infringement. It is pronounced following an adversarial procedure.

FYI  

The penalty may be imposed every year until the fleet is brought into compliance.