The total Building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) market (BIPV systems) will grow from about $3 billion in 2015 to over $9 billion in 2019, and surge to $26 billion by 2022, as more truly “integrated” BIPV products emerge that are monolithically integrated and multifunctional. BIPV currently make up a small but noticeable part of the world BIPV market. The global market was valued at 1,201 megawatts in 2010 and is expected to increase at a 56% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to reach a capacity of 11,392 megawatts in 2015.

Mandate for all the new buildings to be zero emissions by the year 2016 in regions such as Europe is largely driving its adoption level. Installation on commercial rooftops offers larger opportunities that reach several megawatts while it is comparatively lesser for residential rooftops.

With respect to technology thin film technologies are favored as compared to crystalline silicon technology mainly due to their physical flexibility, comparably low cost, aesthetic factor and the wide range of options provided for installation. Products based on DSSC and OPV are expected to be available in the commercial market in the next 2 to 3 years.

Earlier generations of PV for buildings utilized solar panels mounted directly onto the building roof with minimal aesthetic considerations. This concept was replaced by building-integrated PV systems, where the PV modules actually came to replace parts of the building envelope, providing functional considerations and lowering costs. More recently, thin-film PV technologies have begun to enable the seamless integration of PV onto buildings, and will likely succeed in markets where their superior flexibility, minimal weight, and improved ability to perform in variable lighting conditions gives them a significant competitive advantage over conventional solar technologies.

However the success of creating new BIPV markets will depend on many variables, including:

• Concerted efforts by players in the BIPV supply chain to work together towards the design and integration of solar into the building envelope;
• Costs in $/Wp, as well as the building industry’s preferred metric of $/m2, of product and power availability;
• Development of specific standards and building codes;
• Availability of federal and local incentives to ensure cost effectiveness;
• Added value for consumers and architects; and
• Ease of production and the scale at which a production plant becomes economically feasible.