SPECIAL FEATURE PThe Future of By Mark Robins, Senior Editor
These next-generation technologies ensure photovoltaics has a bright future DuPont’s Kapton colorless polyimide fi lm, a transparent PV technology, is a new material currently in development for use as a
fl exible, fully monolithically integrated fl exible solar module based on cadmium telluride. (Photo courtesy of DuPont)
According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, more energy from the sun falls on the earth in one hour than is used by everyone in the world in one year. With energy demands continually increasing, along with the need for new and clean energy sourc- es, the world’s fastest-growing energy technology is solar. “The sun is our most reliable source of clean
renewable energy,” says Jerry Heininger, coordinator of environmental products at Englert Inc., Perth Am-
16 METAL CONSTRUCTION NEWS January 2013
boy, N.J. “Despite some bad press from the demise of several solar companies and the infl ux of foreign solar components, the future of solar energy in this country is still quite sunny. We have an ever-growing demand for additional energy that will need to be sat- isfi ed. Over the next 30 to 40 years it is expected that solar will provide 25 percent of our energy needs.” Metal roofi ng systems are the perfect photo-
voltaic (PV) host, a fi t that provides many benefi ts for the building and its owner. What follows are some next-generation PV technologies on the solar power horizon.
Building-integrated photovoltaics Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) are integrated into the building envelope. They replace conventional building materials in part of the building envelope, such as the roof, skylights or façades. They are increasingly being incorporated into the construction of new buildings as a prin- cipal or ancillary source of electrical power, and existing buildings can be retrofi tted with similar technology. BIPV’s advantage over more common non-integrated systems is that the initial cost can be offset by reducing the amount spent on building
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hotovoltaics is....
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