Amid the green energy revolution, Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) technology, with its unique advantages, has become a vital force driving sustainable development in the construction industry. In recent years, driven by market demand for cost reduction and efficiency improvement, BIPV module technology has continued to innovate and evolve. Thin-film PV modules, in particular, are becoming the new favorite in the BIPV sector because they not only meet the surface design requirements of various buildings but also offer low manufacturing costs, lightweight, low temperature coefficients, and enhanced energy efficiency and environmental protection. They truly achieve the perfect integration of photovoltaic power generation and architectural functions.
1. BIPV is a key technology for achieving energy conservation and carbon reduction in buildings.
The construction industry is a major contributor to carbon emissions in my country. According to the "2022 China Building Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions Research Report," in 2020, China's building and construction sector consumed 2.27 billion tons of standard coal and emitted 5.08 billion tons of carbon, accounting for 45.5% and 50.9% of the national total, respectively. In terms of market size, my country currently has 60 billion square meters of existing building area, with a potential for installing nearly 10 billion square meters of BIPV products, or approximately 1,500 GW. With approximately 2 billion square meters of new buildings added annually, approximately 18 GW of new installation space is available.
Given my country's natural conditions and the future vigorous development of photovoltaics, building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) is essential for achieving carbon neutrality in the construction industry. Using photovoltaic building materials instead of traditional building materials will not only significantly reduce carbon emissions during construction but also promote the transformation of the construction industry towards ultra-low energy and zero energy buildings.
2. Interpretation of the Latest Policies for my country's Thin-Film Solar Cell Industry
Thin-film solar photovoltaic cells, as a new type of solar cell, offer advantages such as high conversion efficiency, low cost, and a wide range of applications. They align with the photovoltaic industry's focus on cost reduction and efficiency improvement and have gained national recognition. In recent years, to promote the development of green energy, the government has provided strong policy support to the thin-film solar cell industry, including financial support and tax incentives, encouraging companies to increase investment and accelerate R&D. This policy support has provided favorable guarantees for the rapid development of thin-film solar cells in the BIPV sector.
3. Introduction to Zoom Solar Green Energy Technology's "Huating" Product
Based on the development philosophy of "Enhancing Value through Technology, Transforming Life through Green Energy," Zoom Solar Green Energy Technology specializes in the research and development, production, manufacturing, and sales of thin-film solar cell chips. Based in the Qinchuangyuan main window of Xixian New District, Shaanxi Province, Zoom Solar Green Energy Technology has invested 2.016 billion yuan to build the "Western China Zero-Carbon Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Park" in Qinhan New Town, Xixian New District. This park, which includes the Western Solar Intelligence Valley and the Zoom Solar Central Research Institute, plans to construct a 300MW CdTe thin-film module production line to fill the gap in the development and application of high-efficiency CdTe solar cell technology in western my country. In recent years, Zoom Solar Green Energy Technology has successfully broken the international monopoly on the development and production of cadmium telluride thin-film solar cells. Its mass-produced cadmium telluride thin-film photovoltaic modules have achieved a domestically leading conversion efficiency of 17%, achieving industrialization.
As the domestic BIPV market continues to mature, Zoom Solar Green Energy Technology has launched the Huading BIPV series to meet market demands for high efficiency, reliability, and high architectural integration. Designed specifically for industrial and commercial rooftops, Huading BIPV products utilize an integrated, prefabricated technology approach. They not only meet building construction requirements for waterproofing, lightning protection, wind protection, thermal insulation, fire resistance, heavy load resistance, and aging resistance, but also offer high efficiency, reliability, and aesthetics. During the construction of integrated BIPV photovoltaic systems, Huading products can be customized to meet site requirements, ensuring greater adaptability and fit. The product's structural performance meets building standards, allowing owners to transport factory-fabricated standardized components to the construction site for assembly and installation, thus avoiding unnecessary transportation losses.
4. Core advantages of Huading BIPV products
As a green energy building material, Huading BIPV products of Zoom Solar Green Energy Technology can achieve larger installation capacity, higher quality, stronger adaptability and more benefits in the construction of industrial and commercial rooftop photovoltaic power stations. It can install 10%-30% more installed capacity on the same roof. The following are the core performance advantages of Huading BIPV products:
(1) Advanced structure: Huading BIPV product system integrates photovoltaic power generation system, adopts higher mechanical properties and structural methods than ordinary crystalline silicon components, meets the three-property test requirements of curtain wall and building safety performance requirements, and is a set of high-quality rooftop photovoltaic products with complete structure and in line with architectural design requirements. It can be easily integrated into modern modular buildings. The thickness of cadmium telluride power generation glass is the result of strict mechanical calculations in accordance with national building specifications and curtain wall specifications. The PVB film in the middle of the glass has good adhesion, toughness and elasticity, and has the function of absorbing impact. Even if the glass is broken, the fragments will adhere firmly to the PVB film and will not fall off and scatter to hurt people.
(2) Meeting the lighting needs of buildings: With its innovative cadmium telluride power generation glass technology, it provides buildings with a solution that can generate electricity without affecting lighting. This power generation glass is made of smooth ultra-white tempered glass, and through precise light transmittance adjustment, it ensures that the interior of the building is well-lit and transparent. At the same time, its thickness and structural design strictly comply with national building regulations, ensuring safety performance while fully demonstrating its unique power generation and lighting effects.
(3) Excellent performance: Huading BIPV products use cadmium telluride thin-film solar cells, which have better weak light power generation performance. In terms of assembly, it chooses double-glass packaging with higher reliability, so that the product's equivalent vertical irradiation photovoltaic module efficiency is not less than 18%, the photothermal conversion efficiency is not less than 30%, the system additional cost does not exceed 50%, and the energy attenuation within 20 years does not exceed 10%. Huading series products use PVB glue with better anti-aging performance instead of EVA glue, and have the characteristics of transparency, heat resistance, cold resistance, moisture resistance, and high mechanical strength. In addition, Huading BIPV uses photovoltaic-specific wires (double-layer cross-linked polyethylene tinned copper wire), larger wire diameters, and high-performance connectors, all of which can extend the service life of the BIPV photovoltaic system. In addition, the internal high-efficiency thermal conductivity system can increase the efficiency of photovoltaic modules by 5%, without problems such as embrittlement, cracking, or tearing, ensuring continuous high power generation within 25 years.
(4) High return on investment: Huading BIPV products cost 50% more per square meter than traditional roofs, but can provide approximately 350kWh of electricity per square meter per year and more than 500kWh of equivalent recovered heat energy; compared with traditional roofs + distributed photovoltaics, Huading products can reduce construction costs per square meter by 10%, while also improving roof energy utilization efficiency and extending module life.
(5) Aesthetic properties: Huading BIPV uses advanced cadmium telluride thin-film photovoltaic modules. The photovoltaic process has no splicing seams, the appearance color is highly uniform, and the appearance is highly designable. It meets the aesthetic requirements of building roofs and is harmoniously unified with various architectural styles. It embodies the concept of sustainable development and green living and is an ideal choice for green buildings and environmentally friendly energy.
(6) Easy installation: Huading BIPV products, with their highly integrated and integrated design, greatly simplify the installation steps. Only one process is required, which reduces construction time and labor costs, shortens the construction period, and saves time and construction costs for owners.
(7) Green and environmentally friendly: Huading BIPV can be installed on the roof and facade of a building without occupying additional land and eliminating the support structure of the photovoltaic system. Using the principle of photoelectric conversion, there is no noise when generating electricity and no pollution to the environment. The building can generate electricity for its own use, and the power output curve perfectly matches the power load curve. At the same time, it also reduces the cost and energy consumption of the power transmission process. The excess electricity can be supplied to the power grid, which has certain economic benefits and can also prevent the serious air pollution caused by general fossil fuel power generation. This is extremely important for today and the future when environmental protection requirements are higher. 5. Application Scenarios of Huading's BIPV Products
Zoom Solar Green Energy Technology's Huading BIPV product, as a new type of photovoltaic roof system, features simultaneous design, construction, and acceptance with the building, offering the same lifespan as the photovoltaic system, becoming an integral component of the building. It boasts a broad market prospect and can be applied in airports, exhibition halls, stadiums, industrial plants, office buildings, residential rooftops, photovoltaic carports, and commercial complexes. Since its release, the Huading BIPV product has been successfully applied in numerous classic projects, including the distributed photovoltaic power station of China National Building Materials Harbin Fiberglass Research Institute Co., Ltd., the rooftop distributed photovoltaic power station of the Zoom Solar Green Energy Industrial Park, the distributed photovoltaic power station of the Qinhan Management Committee, the rooftop distributed power generation of China National Building Materials in Ruichang, and the distributed photovoltaic power station of China National Building Materials (Luoyang) New Energy Co., Ltd., demonstrating its reliability and advantages through a series of successful cases.
6. Conclusion
In summary, Zoom Solar Green Energy Technology's Huading product, with its advanced technology and innovative design, has secured a prominent position in the BIPV market and made a positive contribution to the sustainable development of urban buildings. In the future, Zoom Solar Green Energy Technology will continue to be guided by market demand and use technological innovation as a means to continuously enhance the core competitiveness of excellent products such as Huading and Huamu, truly realize the replacement of traditional building materials with photovoltaic power generation materials in building applications, and make "every inch of future buildings generating electricity" a reality, helping more companies in society achieve zero-carbon transformation.