Building-integrated PV (BIPV) could make a substantial contribution to Australia’s clean energy transition, but one industry expert says a lack of understanding about the value and versatility of the technology means it remains underutilized.

Rooftop solar has boomed in Australia with 4 million homes and small businesses already hosting solar panels, but the BIPV market remains largely untapped.

Rebecca Yang, director of the Solar Energy Application Laboratory at RMIT University in Melbourne, said BIPV offers great potential as a local energy source, but its contribution to Australia’s total PV generation is very limited.

“There are a few medium-scale commercial projects being progressed and there are other small projects going on across Australia, but its adoption has been comparatively slow,” she said.

Yang, who will speak at the three-day Asia-Pacific Solar Research Conference in Sydney this week, attributed this lag to concerns about performance and safety, and engineering issues relating to design, installation, and maintenance.

Yang also highlighted a lack of understanding from the building industry about the value proposition of BIPV.