Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) and Building Technologies Office (BTO) jointly issued a request for information (RFI) to gather input on technical and commercial challenges and opportunities for building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems.
While roof-mounted solar systems on buildings are more common, the RFI announcement notes that BIPV systems offer other ways to site solar technologies on buildings, such as directly integrating solar modules into the roof or the building’s façade.
Integrating solar generation directly into building components could improve material and supply chain efficiencies and reduce system, added the DOE.
The goal of the RFI is to identify and quantify barriers to BIPV deployment and inform future strategy and program development in this area. BIPV products have been available for over a decade but adoption has been slower than predicted, noted the agency.
"There is so much untapped potential to make solar energy more ubiquitous in our communities, and create high-performing, energy-efficient buildings,” said Kelly Speakes-Backman, principal deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. “Innovative strategies that use building-integrated photovoltaics can improve solar integration, enable new designs and uses, and support our decarbonization goals.”
In the RFI, SETO and BTO are seeking feedback from industry, research laboratories, academia, government agencies, and other stakeholders related to BIPV technologies and markets. The deadline to submit responses to the RFI is April 1, 2022, at 5 p.m. ET.
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