SolarPower Summit Opens in Brussels Announcing Another Strong Year for Solar With Double-Digit Growth SolarPower Europe presented its latest solar market data at the SolarPower
Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) is the technology that integrates solar elements into buildings to generate electricity. BIPV is extremely versatile: it can be applied to curved surfaces; they can be custom-made; they can be different colours or transparent so that they can be integrated into windows; and BIPV can even be made from flexible material. This wide variety of BIPV products will support energy consumers, as BIPV can adapt to the specific needs of customers.
The EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive requires all new buildings to be nearly zero-energy by the end of 2020. BIPV is crucial for the decarbonization of the building stock in Europe. Today, buildings are responsible for 36% of the EU’s CO2 emissions, but buildings could supply 32% of the EU’s energy demand – if they used on-site generation installations, such as solar panels or building integrated solar (BIPV).
Europe is a world leader in BIPV, with more than 200 products currently available on the market. The annual cumulated European installed capacity of BIPV is expected to surpass 11 GW by 2020.
The further development of the BIPV sector is very much linked to the evolution of the regulatory framework. Important pieces of European legislation have been discussed by the European Parliament and the Council including the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).
The adoption of the EPBD is an important step towards smarter and more sustainable buildings and its implementation will have a direct impact in the BIPV sector. Other legislative initiatives such as the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Directives should facilitate ambitious minimum requirements for the development of renewable energies in buildings and accelerate the renovation of Europe’s existing building stock.
Join SolarPower Europe’s BIPV Task Force
SolarPower Europe works to promote the development of BIPV technologies, advocating for an ambitious vision for the decarbonisation of the building stock while pushing the interests of the European BIPV industry.
If you are interested in joining this task force, contact Mariano Guillén.
Key activities and deliverables:
Global Head of Strategic Marketing PV at Merck and SolarPower Europe’s BIPV Task Force leader
Beautiful building integrated solar across Europe:
Photos: Brynseng School in Oslo, Norway ( ©NCC), Copenhagen International School (© CF Møller)
webinar: What's next for bipv in Europe?
To: EU Ministers of the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council; European Commissioner in charge of Climate Action and Energy; European Parliament’s rapporteur in charge of
Download open letter. Date: December 2017 Our associations represent millions of jobs in Europe and a wide range of business players which provide, implement and/or