Sept. 14, 2012: Building Integrated Photovoltaics Market to Quadruple to $2.4 Billion by 2017
BOULDER, Colo. — Despite the difficult market environment for the solar industry as a whole, the opportunity for building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) looks extremely promising, according to a new report from Pike Research, a part of Navigant’s Energy Practice. The firm forecasts that the worldwide market for BIPV and building applied photovoltaics (BAPV) will quadruple over the next five years, growing from $606 million in 2012 to more than $2.4 billion in 2017. Under a more aggressive forecast scenario, the worldwide BIPV market could reach $3.7 billion in 2017.
Until recently, aesthetic and performance concerns restrained architects from using BIPV technology in building designs, but this is changing as energy-efficient, flexible, and transparent solar materials become available, noted Pike Research.