France to double solar capacity with 'delicious' plan for parking panels

Plus, new Waveswing product captures energy from the sea in Scotland

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Solar panels in a parking lot in San Diego, Calif. Photo: Lou Stejskal/flickr.

Ooh la-la! The French have a delicious solar plan for le parking!

My daughter and I both love a small French pickle called a cornichon. So much so that I order them in bulk — 12 jars on a cardboard tray. Boy, are they tasty!

Adding in a small way to the joy is that the jars come with a plastic contraption that, as the pickles are eaten, can be pulled up so you don’t have to fish around at the bottom of the container for the tiny treats. It’s so neat!

OK, so the French can be annoying with their bureaucracy and sluggish ways, but they sure do come up with some good stuff sometimes (including, of course, the food and wine). Latest evidence: a new rule that will require all large parking lots to be covered by solar panels.

The legislation, just approved by the French senate, requires the panels in existing and new car parks with space for at least 80 vehicles, with the owners of car parks with between 80 and 400 spaces having five years to comply.