/
My account person ENGIE

My notifications

Emerging sustainable technologies Return to the list
PV everywhere: the era of Integrated Photovoltaics (X-i-PV)

PV everywhere: the era of Integrated Photovoltaics (X-i-PV)

2022
EMERGING TECH

The significant and continuing fall in PV prices is facilitating the development of a multitude of new applications.


Floating PV

Vehicle integrated PV (VIPV)

Agri PV

Infrastructure integrated PV (IIPV)

Building integrated PV (BIPV)

  • A photovoltaic installation mounted on a floating structure
  • A PV installation integrated into the vehicle, connected to electric loads or batteries in electric vehicles 
  • PV combined with standard structures (e.g. greenhouses)
  • Intensify the land use (crops harvesting and energy generation)
  • Refers to embedding solar power in infrastructures such as: noise barriers, carports, streetlights etc.
  • PV used to replace conventional building materials in parts of the building envelope such as the roof, skylights, windows or facades

Watch the VIDEO

Watch the VIDEOWatch the VIDEOWatch the VIDEO
Watch the VIDEO



Despite their common goal of optimising land use to produce energy, X-i-PV encompasses very different realities





AGRI PV

Advantages:
  • Lessen the competition for land use between growing food and generating energy in densely populated areas [12]
  • Create favorable environments for crops (shade, temperature, humidity conditions) [12]
  • Bring additional revenues to farmers at marginal cost either thanks to electricity generation (self consumption), crops (quality/quantity), land lease or free / less costly equipment [12]
Challenges:
  • Major module manufacturers do not yet market modules of a suitable size and efficiency for Agri PV systems [12]
  • Possible higher price due to its innovative nature; specific regulatory frameworks are needed to support its development [12]
  • Soiling from products, components, and fertilizers used in agricultural activities could impact the durability and power production [12]

FLOATING

Advantages:
  • New opportunities to produce solar energy in countries with a high population density and where competition uses for land is rife [13]
  • Attractive in combination with hydropower assets as both technologies can benefit from each other: grid connection already in place, reduction of evaporation, complementary production profile…[13]
  • Synergies between fresh water and PV: the cooling effect of water can boost the energy yield, reduction or elimination of panel shading, elimination of the need for major site preparation (leveling, foundations etc.) [13] [14]
Challenges:
  • Need for specific floating PV test for drinking-water compatibility, wind resistance of platforms etc. International certifications are lacking [13]
  • O&M more complex compared to conventional PV (electrical circuit, cleaning due to possible soiling caused by birds) [13] 
  • Difficulty of implementation in the sea where water surface conditions are much rougher [13]

BIPV

Advantages:
  • Thanks to advantageous regulations, the BIPV market is expected to grow by an average of 2.7% per year [15]
  • Numerous aesthetically appealing products have been launched (semi transparent, colored PV, flexible etc.) [16]
  • Mitigation of the timing imbalance between supply and demand of electricity thanks to BIPV façade oriented towards east or west [17]
  • Bring additional revenues at marginal cost thanks to integration on existing envelope functionalities. 
Challenges:
  • Today, BIPV is a niche market [18]
  • PV modules lose efficiency as temperature increases, special care should therefore be taken regarding façade ventilation [19]
  • BIPV projects require advanced collaboration between building stakeholders: PV, architects, construction and real estate sectors [15]

New business models and opportunities, with ambitious roadmaps unveiled by countries with land availability issues


Flagship commercial projects*


A global acceleration of X-i-PV deployment 

Countries with significant X-i-PV projects

Bibliography

[6] Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, ISE, 2021. Photovoltaics Report. 
[7] Youtube.com, 2020. ENGIE Solutions: Sibelco, the largest floating PV system in Belgium. 
[8] Youtube.com, 2021. Lightyear One Performance Testing — Why it's the most efficient electric vehicle.
[9] Youtube, 2021. Sun'Agri agrivotaism on apple trees LA PUGERE. 
[10] Youtube, 2016. Opening of the photovoltaic solar plant of Walon Rivesaltes.
[11] Youtube, 2021. Solstex® by Elemex - Solar Facade System Installation.
[12] SolarPower Europe, 2021. Agrisolar Best practices guidelines. 
[13] World Bank Group, ESMAP and SERIS, 2019. Where Sun Meets Water: Floating Solar Handbook for Practitioners. Washington, DC: World Bank.
[14] Ranjbaran P. et al., 2019. A review on floating photovoltaic (FPV) power generation units. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 110,332-347.
[15] BIPV boost, 2018. Update on BIPV market and stakeholder analysis.
[16] SUPSI/ SEAC status report, 2017. Building Integrated Photovoltaics: Product overview for solar building skins. 
[17] Defaix P.R. et al., 2012. Technical potential for photovoltaics on buildings in the EU-27. Solar Energy 86, 9.
[18] PVSites report, 2016. BIPV market and stakeholder analysis and needs.
[19] Lehmann J. et al., 2017. An in-depth comparison of PV modules in a BIPV façade test setup”, 33rd EU PVSEC.
[20] pveurope.eu, 2017. New Heliatek solar energy façade on Engie’s research center.
[21] IMEC, 2018. The key to a sustainable building façade: Successful BiPV installation in Antwerp at end of EU project PVme. 
[22] Equans, 2020. Engie Solutions construit le plus grand parc solaire flottant de Belgique.
[23] Solar Highways, 2021. Final report of the Solar Highways Rijkswaterstaat project.
[24] U-Solar, 2020. Solar Power for Ctrls Data Center Mumbai.
[25] PV-magazine.com, 2020. Giant agrivoltaic project in China.
[26] PV-magazine.com, 2020. Another 120 MW of solar aquaculture in China.
[27] Heinrich M. et al., 2020. Potential and Challenges of Vehicle Integrated Photovoltaics for Passenger Cars. 37th European PV Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition. Vol. 7. 2020.
[28] PV-magazine, 2021. South Korea wants to deploy another 2.1 GW of floating PV by 2030.

Download the 2022 Sustainable technologies PDF
download

Other technologies

Metal fuels

arrow_forward

Metals as recyclable carbon neutral fuels are promising alternatives to fossil fuels.

Fusion power

arrow_forward

Fission is a nuclear technology based on splitting one large atom into two smaller atoms whilst Fusion is the fusing of two light atoms into a larger one. 

Wind Turbine Blade Circularity

arrow_forward

Wind Blade Waste is composed of valuable resources that should be recycled to make the supply chain even more sustainable.

Natural Hydrogen

arrow_forward

Natural hydrogen is generated by natural geochemical processes inside the Earth’s crust

Innovate Together

Help us build
a more sustainable future

lightbulbSuggest your innovation

Sign up for the ENGIE Innovation Newsletter

By continuing to browse, you accept that ENGIE uses cookies for the purpose of saving information about your browsing on the Site. Cookies help make your browsing experience easier and also make it possible to gather statistics about who visits the Site with the goal of improving its quality. For more information, click here.
Consult cookies policy

close icon