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Built-in solar struggles with costs, efficiency
The market for solar modules that are designed to be integrated into buildings in the form of shingles or windows faces a tough challenge given their higher costs and lower efficiency than competing products.
Building-integrated photovoltaics, or BIPVs, made by companies such as Energy Conversion Devices and Ascent Solar, are designed to be an integral part of buildings, in contrast to the photovoltaic panels made by First Solar, Suntech, and others that need to be retrofitted on roofs.
Given their unobtrusive nature, BIPVs were once touted as the next big thing in solar power, but have so far not taken … Read more
