Background

Globally, the current energy system is undergoing a transition, and photovoltaics (PV) plays a key role in that shift. Especially over the past decade, PV power generation has made the leap from a niche technology to an important player in the global energy supply.
In Austria, a tenfold increase in currently installed PV capacity (i.e., from 1.5 to 15 GW) is required to meet the federal government’s energy target (100% renewable electricity by 2030). In the medium term, by 2050, at least another doubling will be necessary due to the expected increase in electricity demand. To achieve broad acceptance of this technology, and also to serve as a model for other countries, Austria must optimize the technical and systemic integration of PV into buildings and structures. This also presents an opportunity for Austria to position itself as a BIPV pioneer in the export of innovative BIPV products and excellent know-how.

Project Objectives

For establishing or expanding an Austrian BIPV focus in production and research, the international context of the IEA PVPS program was ideally suited. Within IEA PVPS Task 15.2, the Austrian consortium’s participation focused primarily on

• better integrating BIPV into the integrated planning of buildings/structures (digitalization of planning workflows) for retrofit and new construction.
• highlighting the product diversity of BIPV in terms of technologies and design options, as well as integration options in buildings and structures.
• strengthening the embedding of BIPV in national and international laws and guidelines, and harmonizing BIPV test requirements and standards from the construction sector and electrical engineering.
• identifying market potential for on-building power generation and developing viable business models.
• developing comprehensive evaluation parameters for BIPV installations (energy-related, economic, environmental, and aesthetic) and consolidating them into a multifunctional evaluation matrix for implemented and planned BIPV projects.
• disseminating insights from flagship and best-practice projects to a discipline-specific target audience (contributing to a BIPV installation guide for the construction sector).

Intensive international networking and collaboration builds national know-how and can therefore make a major contribution to establishing a domestically based BIPV industry that operates internationally.