Worldwide the number of vehicles increases each day. Developing economies like India and China are not far behind and are making major contributions in adding to the number perennially. All major manufacturers of the world are making a beeline for these countries, besides indigenous manufacturers are adding new models each day. So where does one accommodate these gargantuan number of vehicles plying each day? In parking lots of course; the need to have massive parking lots is satisfied nowadays by building multi-tier or basement parking lots. Time has come for us to do something worthwhile with the old-fashioned vast stretches of parking lots - efforts are on to reinvent parking lots and go in for an extreme makeover.

Drivers in New York's Long Island Expressway joke that it is a one big parking lot. Serious thoughts are underway to make better use of the 4341 acres of parking space within half a mile of downtowns on the island. Parking lots are supposedly the largest underutilized piece of real estate. A few train-station parking lots in Northern California have become home to office-cum-residential buildings. Some low cost low tech solutions, like the one done by Depave, a non-profit organization in Portland, have ripped up 35000sq. ft of asphalt to plant flowers and vegetables. In one place Camden, a parking lot has been converted into a town square. However the idea which is perhaps the most enterprising is installing solar panel above parking lots to create solar fields generating enough energy to power residential homes.

Kyocera in San Diego has created a Solar Grove in a 186-vehicle employee parking lot with 25 "Solar Trees" forming a 235 Kilowatt carport. The Solar Grove is one of the largest privately owned solar generating systems in San Diego County. After operating for twelve months the Solar Grove generated 427602 kilowatt-hours of clean emission-free electrical energy exceeding the design estimates by 6602 kilowatt-hours. This has been utilized to power 69 San Diego homes. The project was honored with the "Innovation Award" as part of "Smart Growth Awards for Excellence" instituted by the authorities of San Diego District Council. "Creating a sustainable parking lot is an innovative way to begin tackling our energy crisis and to preserve the environment" is what Patricia Trauth a member of the jury panel for the award had to say about the project.

Kyocera expects that the Solar Grove will pay for itself in less than the estimated 12 years payback period as the cost of external energy like natural gas and electricity are expected to rise. The Solar Tree combines modular building architecture with sustainable design. The first generation unit showcases the innovative concept of transforming a parking lot into a clean electrical generator, thus easing the strain on the utility grid while also shading the vehicles. The modular design accommodates any shape and size and helps in promoting energy independence while preserving the environment.