Solar in the Landscape

When talking about residential solar systems we usually think about rooftop solar panels, but wait! There are three reasons to talk about landscaping and solar in the same breath. All of them can represent a source of work or collaboration for the landscape pro.

First, people are often installing solar panels on ground mounted systems because they can get better performance due to orientation, and they don't have to worry about roof penetrations or architectural appeal. When ground mounted systems are employed, they are almost always, an eye sore. Case is point; landscaping can be used to obscure a ground mounted array, or through the use of plantings and other hardscape elements, bring it more meaningfully into the landscape. The illustration below is a beautiful example.

A ground mounted solar array with tastefull landscaping.

The second situation, where landscapers and solar installers can collaborate, is in the...