Today marks another important step in the universitys commitment to renewable energy, sustainability and entrepreneurial initiative. Arizona State University and Strategic Solar Energy took that step when they built the nations first PowerParasol solar canopy in the schools largest blacktop-surface parking lot. Lot 59 is situated adjacent to Sun Devil Stadium and is notoriously one of the most sweltering parking lots in the Phoenix area. The 5.25 acre lot boasts 6,000 parking spaces and certainly captured the attention of the ASU/NRG renewable energy committee. The committees goal was to design a project that was affordable, aesthetically pleasing, environmentally forward-thinking [that would] enhance the experience for visitors to the ASU campus.

The owner and designers desired a coating system that would integrate well with the natural landscape as well as with the existing structures in the area, but would also provide a long service life with little or no maintenance costs. Sustainability and life-cycle cost effectiveness were crucial to the economic feasibility of the project. The utilization of a HDG coating on the structure helped them achieve all of these goals. The coating will thrive in the arid Arizona climate, and proof of that fact is merely steps away from Lot 59. The parking garage adjacent to the lot was HDG and even featured on the cover of an AGA brochure. Although the region does experience a short season of heavy rains, it is traditionally characterized by the extreme temperatures it endures for most of the year. The heat and ultraviolet rays of the sun will have virtually no negative effect on the integrity of the coating or the expected service life of the canopy. Other coating systems would deteriorate much more quickly in such conditions.