It sure seems like I am seeing more and more articles like this one from the USA Today, titled, “Turning parking lots into vast urban solar farms.”

And if it makes it into a paper like the USA Today, it is certainly mainstream.

What are solar carports?

Take typical surface parking lots — like ones you see in strip malls and many office buildings and apartment complexes — and add carports with solar panels as the roof.

You get covered parking for customers and tenants (you normally pay extra in apartments and office buildings for covered parking).

And the space becomes an alternative source of energy.

Here’s a picture from the Dell Computer campus in Round Rock, Texas.

We have been discussing these types of arrangements with several companies recently, so I am starting to think they are starting to take off in terms of acceptance.