Building Integrated Photovoltaics Market Poised for Big Growth

A new report from NanoMarkets, an industry analyst firm, predicts that the market for building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) will reach more than $4 billion in revenues by 2013 and surpass $8 billion in 2015.

According to the report, Building Integrated Photovoltaics Markets: 2008, by 2013, approximately 7 giga-watts power (GWp) of total BIPV capacity will be from residential applications. Although the market will remain dominated by rooftop installations, facade BIPV will account for 1.1 GWp by 2013.

Much of the growth in the BIPV market will be generated by a new generation of BIPV products such as solar tiles, slates, and shingles. However, by 2013, facade products such as solar curtainwalls, building cladding and atrium glass will produce $430 million in revenues. Solar cladding is a very competitive alternative to conventional cladding materials and is claimed to provide similar aesthetics to marble and bronze but at a fraction of the cost. Solar curtainwalls present a special opportunity since they are easier to receive planning permission and permits for compared with conventional roof-mounted PV.

By 2013, NanoMarkets expects BIPV to present major opportunities for new thin-film and organic PV materials that enable products to be laminated onto curved surfaces and integrated into buildings. In the future, direct encapsulation of PV into building materials may lead to significant reductions in total building costs, according to the report.

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