Photovoltaics to power up change

In June last year, the National Energy Administration published a notification on piloting the rooftop development of distributed solar energy at the county level. The document is expected to greatly expand the market for photovoltaic power generation on buildings, it said.

Driven by preferential policies and the boom in photovoltaic generation, "BIPV will embrace an enormous market," the report said.

GF Securities estimates that China's total addressable market will reach 23 billion yuan ($3.5 billion) this year, and following continuous increases, it will expand to 86.6 billion yuan in 2025.

Liu Jimao, assistant president of Zonergy, a new energy conglomerate, said some reforms are still needed to address factors hindering BIPV development in China.

"BIPV is developing very slowly in China, where its market is less than 10 percent that of BAPV," he said.

Among the obstacles is the fact that in China, BIPV modules need to apply the construction standards used for glass curtain walls, he said. This makes the cost too high if the modules are used to replace the color steel tiles commonly used for rooftops. If the modules are used to replace the glass curtain wall, they only generate a very small amount of power.

To boost BIPV development in China, Liu suggested reforming the standards for BIPV modules.

With costs, practicality and safety as major concerns, different technical standards should be adopted in accordance with application scenarios, he said, adding that he believes such reform would bring a "prosperous future" for BIPV.

Zhang Lei, a postdoctoral researcher at Peking University, believes BIPV is embracing huge development opportunities.

He noted that the increasingly improved policy system, proactive government guidance and the consistent growth of China's PV market are all providing impetus for the development of BIPV.

He added that about 2 billion square meters of new buildings are constructed in China every year, which offers huge market potential for BIPV.

He said that as local governments work to achieve the country's climate targets "it's exactly the right time for the construction sector to develop BIPV technologies on a large scale".