A recent report from Pike Research indicates that the worldwide solar energy market has experienced dramatic change in the past few years. The industry has shifted from a supply-driven business with unsustainably high module selling prices to demand-driven with cost per watt and module efficiency becoming the primary factors that are determining market winners. The report anticipates a similar shift in terms of industry dynamics for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) and building-applied photovoltaics (BAPV). Pike Research forecasts that, driven mainly by lower costs, the global BIPV market will see strong growth in the coming years, with annual wholesale revenues rising from $744 million in 2010 to nearly $4 billion in 2016, under a base case scenario. A more aggressive growth forecast contemplates that the BIPV market could reach $5.8 billion during the same period.
“The cost per watt for BIPV is declining quickly, and this trend will accelerate demand for building-integrated and building-applied solar products,” says senior analyst Peter Asmus. “We expect that the cost per watt for BIPV/BAPV will likely reach $2.50 per watt by 2016. In addition, the aesthetics of BIPV/BAPV are improving, and there are now solar tiles and shingles that blend into rooftops and crystalline-silicon (c-Si) solar panels in various shapes, sizes, colors, transparencies, and patterns that appear to seamlessly blend into a building’s structure.”