ENERGY TILES ARE HOT

Everybody interviewed who has worked with them says they are too expensive and impractical. But hope springs eternal in the herman breast.

On the sunny side of the street; Goals of new solar technology: more attractive, cheaper products
Stephanie I. Cohen, May 14, 2007 (MarketWatch from Dow Jones)
click to enlarge
WHO
Solar companies PowerLight, BP Solar (Geoffrey Slevin, director of marketing), Dow Chemical Co. (William Banholzer, chief technology officer)

WHAT
The push is on (and has been for some time though the article doesn’t mention THAT) to develop BUILDING INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAICS (BIPV), solar cells made from some form of “thin film” material that can be incorporated into roofing tiles, siding, etc.

WHEN
- EnergyTile and SunTile are presently in use.
- solar cell/module shipment, 2004:>78,000
- solar cell/module shipment, 2005: >134,000

WHERE
- >1,000 SunTiles homes completed/under construction in California: PowerLight Corp. w/ home builders Grupe Co., Lennar Homes, Castle & Cook, Shea Homes.
- EnergyTile (BP Solar/Old Country Roofing) is available in Northern California
Other systems are mostly on the west coast.

WHY
- Solar presently: 1/30 of 1% of US electricity and growing. The push for BIPV comes from aesthetic concerns.
- BP solar: EnergyTile, a roofing tile with embedded solar technology that blends into the roof rather than adding a layer. Also: Integra, a mounting/framing system for asphalt roofs.
- PowerLight Corp., a SunPower subsidiary: SunTiles, seamlessly installed with roof tiles and indistinguishable from roof tiles except by the black reflective surface
- Dow will spend $100 million in the coming 5 years on solar.
- BIPV system cost: $20,000 to $25,000 before $5,000 to $6,000 rebate, and less actual roofing cost

QUOTES
- Slevin: "There are certain customers who...won't buy [solar] because of esthetics…"
- Banholzer: "BIPV is almost nonexistent…Right now you build a solar roof by building a home with a traditional roof, then building a solar roof on top of that…But the better approach is to put the roof on once…Within two years I expect we'll have [BIPV] products out on test…If you really want to penetrate the market [in the U.S.] you have to address all three [types of roofing]…Solar is an outstanding source of energy. Its big pitfall is...it's still pretty expensive…"
- Bill Kelly, general manager, SunPower: “The [solar] technology has come a long way in making solar blend in with building materials…Within 12 months you'll see this in other states…"
- March report, Jennings Capital: "As solar energy matures, the market for solar products is moving toward large-scale commercial projects and building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems…"