Solar canopy on UW’s biggest parking lot paves way for brighter future
The new solar canopy on the E18 parking lot is a pilot project for the expansion of solar across the lot and the neighboring E2 lot. Trinity Energy
The UW’s sustainability efforts are getting a boost with a new solar canopy on the E18 parking lot. The canopy has a capacity of 86.4 kilowatts of solar power, which will feed into the UW energy grid. It also includes 20 new spaces for electric vehicle charging.
A pilot project, the canopy is the first solar project of its kind on the UW campus, said Kylie Hill with UW Solar, a student group that worked in collaboration with UW Transportation Services on the project. Up until now, solar panels have been installed only on buildings.
The E18 parking lot is located on Montlake Blvd. NE, north of the Intramural Activities (IMA) Building and Husky Stadium. The area was once part of Union Bay and then a city dump before its current use. During the UW Football season, the parking lot is crowded with tailgaters before home games.
The solar canopy is testing out the feasibility of transforming the area once again by installing canopies on the entire lot, along with its neighbor E01. The expansion could generate up to 8 megawatts of power, accounting for up to 5% of the University’s electricity use.
The project, completed in November, ties into the University’s goal of decarbonizing its energy systems. The UW currently burns natural gas to produce steam for campus heating and cooling. Lessening the UW’s dependence on fossil fuels depends on different strategies for energy generation, including solar.
It’s also being used as a model for the expansion of solar on campus as part of the 2050 Sustainability Action Plan, which will be released later this year.
The pilot has allowed the UW to learn more about the costs and the different materials and systems that make up the structure. It also revealed the challenges of supporting a structure on a former dump, which required drilling four feet below the concrete. The Montlake Landfill, which included what is now the Union Bay Natural Area, was operational from 1926 to 1966.
Former Transportation Services Director Anne Eskridge, a strong advocate for the solar canopy, speaks at a 2025 Earth Day event at the site of the project. Misty Shock Rule/University of Washington
Gabriel Kennedy-Gibbens with UW Solar speaks at the Earth Day event. Also pictured L-R: Graham Christenson, David Gunderson and Kylie Hill. Misty Shock Rule
Mark Huppert, interim director of Transportation Services, talks to community college students under the completed solar canopy in December 2025. Misty Shock Rule
Jan Whittington, associate professor of Urban Design and Planning and advisor for UW Solar, speaks at the ribbon cutting event for the solar canopy in January. Erhong Gao/University of Washington
Now that the canopy is in use, UW Solar students will analyze the data collected from the structure to assess energy savings that could come from a larger scale development, said Jan Whittington, associate professor of Urban Design and Planning who is the advisor for the student group.
Formed in 2012, UW Solar is an interdisciplinary registered student organization (RSO) that advocates for the planning, design and development of campus solar and electrification projects. During its first 10 years, UW Solar conducted a property-by-property analysis of UW’s capacity for producing solar energy.
“It became really clear that the single largest opportunity to generate solar energy on this campus exists on those E lots,” said Whittington.
The group approached Transportation Services in 2015 and formed a strong partnership with Anne Eskridge, the former director of Transportation Services who retired last fall.
UW Solar also helped bring in early funding for the project through $481,500 in grants from Seattle City Light and the Washington State Department of Commerce. The total cost of the project was $3.7 million.
In December, interim director of Transportation Services Mark Huppert gave a tour of the newly completed canopy to community college students and credited UW Solar and Eskridge.
“Projects like this take a lot of advocacy, because this is outside the box,” he said. “This is not what Transportation Services usually does. It's not what the campus utility usually does.”
Hill, the UW Solar student, wasn’t part of the project at its earliest stages but appreciates how the solar canopy fits into the big picture of the work of past, present and future UW Solar students. The group is entering a “new era,” she said, as they explore different kinds of spaces for solar panels.
“[The solar canopy] is the project that I like to lead with when talking to new or potential members at RSO fairs or other tabling events,” she said. “If you join us, you can help continue that legacy of our initial members that we've been building up for the last decade. It’s kind of like passing the torch on.”
UW Transportation Services is hosting a ribbon cutting for the solar canopy on Tuesday, February 17, at 3:30 p.m. If you have questions or would like to attend, contact Misty Shock Rule at mistysr@uw.edu.
