Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV): A revolutionary breakthrough for green buildings in the next 5 years!

Against the backdrop of increasing global emphasis on sustainable development and green buildings, the BIPV industry is experiencing unprecedented development opportunities. According to industry development analysis, the BIPV industry will see significant growth in the next 5 years (2025-2030), and may even enter a period of explosive growth.

BIPV, or building-integrated photovoltaics, is a building-integrated photovoltaic power station system that integrates solar panels into building facades, roofs, and other parts. This system can be adapted to most building forms, such as flat roofs, sloped roofs, curtain walls, and ceilings. Compared with traditional building-attached photovoltaics (BAPV), BIPV directly replaces building materials such as glass curtain walls and roof tiles, saving both material costs and installation costs.

The construction industry is a major carbon emitter, accounting for 50.6% of China's total carbon emissions, with 21.6% of emissions occurring during the operational phase. In the face of such a severe situation, BIPV technology greatly reduces reliance on traditional electricity by directly integrating photovoltaic power generation systems into the exterior walls and roofs of buildings, enabling buildings to generate their own electricity.

It is expected that by 2025, China's BIPV installed capacity will soar to 30.2GW, with an annual power generation exceeding 36 billion kWh, equivalent to a reduction of approximately 30 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. This injects strong impetus into achieving the "dual carbon" goals. BIPV is expected to become the "standard configuration" for green buildings before 2030, contributing 10%-15% of emission reductions towards achieving carbon neutrality goals.

With the deepening implementation of the "dual control" policy on energy consumption, high-energy-consuming industries such as steel and chemicals are facing enormous energy-saving pressure. The "self-generation and self-consumption" model of distributed photovoltaics has become an effective way for these enterprises to reduce electricity costs. In addition, the introduction of "power rationing" measures has further stimulated the enthusiasm of enterprises to adopt BIPV systems. The decrease in the life-cycle cost of BIPV systems has shortened the payback period of incremental investment to 5-8 years (or even less), attracting more investment from enterprises.

According to market research institutions' predictions, the size of China's BIPV market is expected to reach 400 billion yuan in 2030, with penetration rate increasing from 0.1% in 2020 to 5%. In the global market, the BIPV market size may reach US$300 billion in 2030, with a compound annual growth rate exceeding 20%. This predicted data fully demonstrates the huge potential and broad development prospects of the BIPV market.

In order to promote the standardization and commercialization of BIPV technology, photovoltaic companies are also actively carrying out cross-border cooperation to promote rapid technological iteration and the widespread application of BIPV products. For example, Zhongmao's "Smart Electric Hui Jia" household photovoltaic system, which adopts a "photovoltaic + energy storage + inverter = integrated" model, has become a mainstream solution for industrial and commercial users to reduce energy costs. Cadmium telluride photovoltaic glass products such as Huading and Huamu series allow every inch of the building to generate electricity, truly realizing the replacement of traditional building materials with green building materials, providing new impetus for the development of the BIPV market and marking the gradual maturity and large-scale application of BIPV technology.

In addition to the traditional residential and commercial building sectors, the application of BIPV in industrial plants, transportation facilities (such as high-speed railway stations and airports), and agricultural greenhouses is also accelerating. Here are some examples of BIPV buildings in China that use cadmium telluride thin-film photovoltaic components:

(1) Wuhan New Energy Research Institute Building

An ecological building using renewable energy such as solar energy, with an annual power generation of 480,000 kWh.

(2) Jiaxing Photovoltaic Science and Technology Museum

The entire building incorporates the photovoltaic concept in its design. The exterior wall uses a cadmium telluride photovoltaic thin-film glass curtain wall, the roof uses a combination of cadmium telluride photovoltaic thin-film glass and polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic panels, and the top of the outdoor car canopy uses polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic panels. Part of the electricity generated is used for the building's own power load, and part is connected to the grid.

(3) Wuhan Railway Station

With a power generation capacity of 2.2MW, this project is a building product that combines BIPV with the main body of Wuhan Railway Station.

(4) Jiaxing Railway Station

China's first fully sunken railway station, it is called the "railway station in the forest" because about 12,000 cadmium telluride thin-film photovoltaic components are installed on the roofs of its north and south station houses. After the project is put into production, it is equivalent to an annual reduction of about 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, truly highlighting the "green building concept".

In the future, with the continuous maturity and popularization of BIPV technology, our living environment will be filled with vibrant green buildings, and each building will become a self-sufficient ecosystem. BIPV is not only a technological innovation, but also an important step for mankind towards sustainable development.
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