It's a solar panel, it's weather protection ... it's Flexa

The Italian firm Enerqos, a photovoltaic (PV) system and solar power plant construction company has teamed with ESP, a specialist in the design of metallic structures for solar installations, to launch Flexa Solar Parking, an innovative, multifunctional solar canopy.

The canopy combines a solar-energy producing array with simple weather protection for parked cars. Enerqos and ESP are showing the product at this week’s SolarExpo 2009 in Verona, Italy.

Flexa Solar Parking can be adapted to any car park design — linear, vertical, angled, etc. — whilst optimising the available surface space for solar power generation. It can even be used for greenhouses, or to protect against hail storms.

“The refined, minimalist design of the Flexa Solar Parking allows it to be totally integrated into any environmental or architectural context,” said Fabrizio Piomboni, director of ESP. “The Flexa Solar Parking offers numerous advantages: the creation of covered parking spaces, optimisation of a space and its productivity, and savings on energy bills. For many companies this easy-to-integrate, ingenious structure is the perfect architectural solution to prove their dedication to the use and generation of renewable energies.”