Building-Integrated Photovoltaics in India: Solar Future

“Turning Buildings Into Solar Assets: The Promise of BIPV”

In the quiet chaos of a Delhi summer morning, Shalini opens her windows to let in the breeze—but is met instead by the thick sting of smog. Her 12-year-old son, who suffers from asthma, has to skip school again. Across the country, in Bengaluru, a tech park briefly goes dark as the city grid flickers under pressure. Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Mumbai, a housing colony celebrates a small milestone—powering 30 homes for a full week using rooftop solar panels, cutting their electricity bills in half.

These stories may seem unconnected, but they represent the energy paradox of urban India: rising prosperity, growing energy demand, and deepening environmental strain. As Indian cities swell with people, concrete, and consumption, the question is no longer whether we need alternative energy, but how fast we can make the transition.

Urban areas are the heart of economic activity—they occupy less than 3% of the Earth's surface but consume over 75% of the world's energy. This demand is only going to intensify. By 2031, over 600 million Indians will live in cities, placing immense pressure on conventional energy infrastructure. Thermal power plants—India’s primary energy source—are carbon-intensive, water-hungry, and often located far from where energy is consumed, leading to substantial transmission losses. This centralised model is no longer sustainable.

Every hour, the sun bathes the Earth in an astonishing 430 quintillion joules of energy—more than what all of humanity consumes in an entire year, which stands at around 500 exajoules. This simple fact highlights the vast, untapped power above us. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, capturing just 0.01% of this solar influx could meet the world’s entire energy needs.

India, with its abundant sunlight for over 300 days a year, is perfectly placed to harness this resource. The country receives 4–7 kWh of solar energy per square metre per day, and with just 3% of its wasteland, it holds a theoretical solar potential exceeding 750 GW. As of April 2025, India has already installed over 80 GW of solar capacity and aims to reach 300 GW by 2030.

While rooftop solar panels have played a crucial role in advancing renewable energy, they are no longer sufficient to meet the growing demands of rapidly urbanizing regions like India. The reason is simple: space. In densely populated cities with high-rise buildings, shadow-free rooftop areas are limited, often shared among multiple families or constrained by structural limitations. Moreover, traditional solar panels are typically add-ons, requiring separate mounting structures, which are not always feasible or aesthetically desirable.

This is where Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) steps in—not just as an alternative, but as a space-smart evolution of solar technology. BIPV systems embed solar cells directly into the building envelope—façades, windows, roofs, and balconies—turning architectural elements into energy generators. They require no extra land or surface, integrate seamlessly into design, and unlock the vast underutilized vertical surfaces of buildings. In doing so, BIPV complements and extends the solar revolution beyond rooftops, making clean energy generation possible even where traditional panels fall short.

Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)

But tapping into the sun’s potential requires not just ambition—it requires innovation. And that’s where Building-Integrated Photovoltaics in India (BIPV) steps in, not merely as a substitute for rooftop solar, but as a reimagining of what buildings can be: generators of energy, not just consumers of it.

Unlike traditional solar panels that are mounted externally, BIPV systems embed photovoltaic technology directly into building elements—the skin of the building itself becomes a power plant. This integration is not just functional; it’s architectural. The materials and technologies behind BIPV reflect this evolution.

At the core of BIPV are advanced photovoltaic materials. Crystalline silicon (c-Si)—both monocrystalline and polycrystalline—remains the most commonly used due to its proven efficiency and maturity. Monocrystalline offers better performance, while polycrystalline offers cost-effectiveness. For buildings requiring lighter, more adaptable materials, thin-film technologies like amorphous silicon (a-Si), cadmium telluride (CdTe), and CIGS (copper indium gallium selenide) provide flexibility and a lower weight profile, even if they generally come with slightly lower efficiencies.

Pushing the envelope further, emerging technologies like organic photovoltaics (OPVs) and perovskite solar cells are gaining ground. These offer high potential in terms of transparency and adaptability, making them especially attractive for integrating into glazing, windows, and flexible facades—but challenges around stability and mass production still need resolution.

The brilliance of BIPV lies in its adaptability to multiple structural elements. Solar shingles and tiles are replacing traditional roofing materials. Façade-mounted PV modules double as cladding, offering both energy generation and aesthetic enhancement. Semi-transparent panels in windows let in daylight while producing electricity—perfect for urban high-rises. Even shading elements like canopies, louvers, and awnings are being reimagined as solar-harvesting surfaces.

This seamless integration allows architects to design energy-efficient buildings without compromising on aesthetics. The very surfaces that once passively absorbed sunlight or simply shaded interiors now play an active role in powering the structure. Beyond beauty and function, BIPV systems also improve energy efficiency by reducing transmission losses through on-site generation.

INTEGER Millennium House in the UK

Of course, challenges remain—higher initial costs, a need for skilled design, and alignment with local building codes and policy frameworks. In India, bodies like the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and codes such as the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) are beginning to lay the groundwork for wider BIPV adoption. Financial viability is steadily improving, especially when factoring in dual-use savings—BIPV systems replace building materials and generate power. Over time, this can significantly offset the capital investment, especially with emerging government subsidies and green building incentives.

India has already begun experimenting with BIPV at scale. The Indira Paryavaran Bhawan in New Delhi, India’s first net-zero energy government building, uses BIPV in both its roof and façade. Abroad, buildings like the INTEGER Millennium House in the UK and EnergyX DY-Building in South Korea are setting global benchmarks for how BIPV can blend sustainability with modern design.

Looking ahead, future breakthroughs in material science—especially in transparent, flexible, and printable PVs—are expected to broaden BIPV’s scope. Imagine skyscrapers shimmering with semi-transparent solar glass or entire railway stations powered by their own walls. In such a world, cities won’t just be places of consumption—they’ll be engines of clean production.

As we rethink the urban energy model for a crowded, warming planet, BIPV isn’t just a technology. It’s a philosophy, that the infrastructure we build can also heal the planet. That buildings can give back.