By 2027, half of your rooftop or parking lot will need to generate solar energy if your building is larger than 500 m². Most companies treat this as a pure compliance box to tick, and never document it anywhere. Yet this concrete, costly, and genuinely committed project deserves to be captured in photo and video: it’s a communication asset sitting right there, as long as someone thinks to film it before it’s too late.
In this article:
- What French law actually requires on rooftops and parking lots
- A project that stays invisible for most companies
- Turning a legal obligation into content that builds your image
- Thresholds, timeline, timing: your questions answered
- This project is happening anyway. Let it speak for you.
What French law actually requires on rooftops and parking lots
The Climate and Resilience law, reinforced by the APER law of March 2023, requires commercial, industrial and craft buildings, warehouses and offices over 500 m² (new, extended or heavily renovated) to include solar panels or vegetation on their roof. The minimum threshold keeps rising: 30% until now, 40% since July 1, 2026, 50% from July 1, 2027.
Outdoor parking lots larger than 1,500 m² fall under the same logic: they must cover at least 50% of their surface with solar carports, phased in through 2028 depending on lot size.
A project that stays invisible for most companies
In most cases we’ve seen, the work happens, compliance gets validated, and nothing usable for communication is left afterward. The investment is real: technical studies, structural work, commissioning. None of it reaches clients, partners, or the future tenders that specifically reward this kind of commitment.
89% of consumers say a video has convinced them to buy a product or service (Wyzowl, 2025). An energy transition project, told through real footage, carries the same persuasive power as a product video, backed by a genuine, verifiable commitment.
Turning a legal obligation into content that builds your image
The right move is to plan the video coverage or photo coverage from the start of the works, not just at the end. Capturing the first groundbreaking, the structure going up, and the commissioning builds a real before/after story, far more compelling than a single photo of the finished result.
83% of consumers trust real testimonials or genuine content more than traditional corporate communication (Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising). A project documented on site, with the real teams and real equipment, carries more weight than a generic stock photo of solar panels.
This kind of content is reusable everywhere afterward: tender responses, a dedicated page on your site, social media posts, sustainability reports. BMAX has already supported this type of project, including a video presentation for A2C ENR’s photovoltaic division.
Thresholds, timeline, timing: your questions answered
Does this obligation apply to every building?
Commercial, industrial and craft buildings, warehouses and offices over 500 m², new, extended or heavily renovated, are covered. Outdoor parking lots over 1,500 m² must cover at least 50% of their surface with solar carports, on a phased timeline through 2028.
Why document this kind of project in photo and video?
A solar project usually stays invisible beyond the site itself. Documenting it turns a legal obligation into concrete proof of commitment, reusable in tenders, on your website, or across your company’s social media.
When’s the right time to plan this coverage?
Ideally from the very start of the works, to capture the full progression: groundbreaking, structural installation, commissioning. Coverage filmed only at the end loses the before/after angle that makes the content genuinely compelling.
This project is happening anyway. Let it speak for you.
Whether your deadline is 2026, 2027 or 2028, this solar project will happen regardless. The one thing still in your hands is whether it stays a simple compliance checkbox or becomes content that speaks to your commitment for years to come. Our BMAX studio already supports several companies in the region on this kind of project.
Une version française de cet article est disponible : Solarisation obligatoire : comment la valoriser en image
Do you have a solar project underway or planned?
Let’s talk for 30 minutes, BMAX supports businesses in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence on their digital communication.
