BIG NUMBERS FOR NEW SOLAR BUILDING MATERIALS

The dream: A structural material that will turn solar energy into electricity at the same cost as the electricity that comes from grid.

The reality: Altered solar panel photovoltaic materials that can be pressed between panes of window glass or mounted on roofing/siding materials. Called Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV), they are made from thin film solar material and generate electricity at a diminished capacity.

Although truly miraculous by contemporary standards, within a decade this stuff will be as antiquated as tires with tubes.

Thin film materials are cheaper than the stuff used to make solar panels but are also less efficient and make the building materials they are incorporated into (roofing, siding, widows, skylights) more expensive than the materials they are replacing without generating enough electricity to warrant the increased expense.

The marketplace is capitalizing (literally) on the trendiness of New Energy. The BIPV market grew 33% in 2007.

Everything solar is still too expensive. The consumer’s choices: Either take out a loan to pay the electricity bill 10 years in advance and get the payoff in the 2nd 10 years or spend on architectural features. So why not spend for something that shows, especially in commercial structures? If it doesn’t pay for itself in electricity output, at least there will be some value in “showing green.”

Meanwhile, materials scientists are hard at work in the labs figuring out how to make the dream come true. It will likely happen in the 2nd decade of this century.

Rule of thumb: If it doesn’t work for off-grid use, buy it, build with it, but don’t expect it to pay for itself.

click to enlarge

From Solar Energy to Electricity: A Growing BIPV Market with Great Potential
July 7, 2008 (Business Wire via Yahoo Finance)

WHO
Frost & Sullivan (Akhil Sivanandan, Building Technologies Group analyst)

WHAT
Sivanandan’s Sun Rising on the European BIPV Market details the expansion of the market for Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)

BIPV at the Stillwell Avenue Staton (click to enlarge)

WHEN
- PV Market 2007: €6.24 billion; growth rate: 46%.
- BIPV Market 2007: €149 million; growth rate: 33%.

WHERE
- BIPV is considered a primarily on-grid application whereas PV panels are used for both on- and off-grid applications.
- Examples of BIPV landmarks: The OpTIC project, Wales; The Stillwell Avenue Station, NYC.

WHY
- BIPV is used for building exteriors: Roof, façade, windows, skylights.
- Thin film materials used for BIPV are less efficient, less costly, more integrated into the structure, often more productive in non-direct sun.
- BIPV can be installed during construction or by retrofit (new roofing, new windows, etc.)
- Key challenge: Cost. BIPV is cheaper than PV panel installation but produces significantly less electricity and costs significantly more than the building materials replaced.

OPTIC, Wales. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Akhil Sivanandan, Building Technologies Group analyst, Frost & Sullivan: “Market participants across Europe will now have to find ways to handle what many consider to be the two main challenges facing the BIPV market right now: the aesthetics of BIPV and the financing and ownership of the system.”
- Akhil Sivanandan, Building Technologies Group analyst, Frost & Sullivan: “There is a lot to gain and little to lose for any player in the market due to the vast untapped potential of BIPV. An exciting time is ahead for all; with government and public focus shifting to greener methods of energy generation, Building Integrated Photovoltaics will have a huge role to play in the future.”