Transparent Solar Panels Market: Current Analysis and Forecast (2022-2028)

Transparent solar panels are clear/transparent glasses that function exactly like a regular solar panel. The differentiation in transparent solar panels is that they are made using commonplace items like electronics, a sheet of glass, or windows. . Transparent solar panels have a huge potential in meeting the world's energy demand using renewable sources such as natural light. Some major types of solar panels which are already being used include, glass in skyscraper buildings, windows in homes, sunroofs of cars, and even smartphones.

The Transparent solar panels market is expected to grow at a steady rate of around 5%. Some of the major factors which significantly influence the growth include- the adoption of transparent solar panels in electric vehicles to power these vehicles using solar electricity and the adoption of transparent solar panels in industrial sectors such as agriculture, military & defense sectors. Major players in the market are working towards the development of transparent solar panels. For instance, in July 2022, Japan's researchers fabricated a highly transparent solar cell with a 2D atomic sheet. These near-invisible solar cells developed using Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) as a transparent electrode and tungsten disulfide (WS2) as a photoactive layer.

Based on type, the market is segmented into thin film photovoltaics (TPVs), near infrared transparent solar cell, polymer solar cell (PSC), perovskite solar cell, and quantum dot (QD) solar cell. The thin film photovoltaics category is expected to have a significant share during the forecasted period. This is mainly owing to the factors such as economical, requiring less material, containing no toxic components, generating less waste, and is very easy to manufacture. Furthermore, rising investments in various utility-scale projects across developing nations will increase the share of solar in the renewable energy mix, which is expected to drive the market.

On the basis of application, the market is bifurcated into tracking solar panels and stationary solar panels. Among these, tracking solar panels to grow with the highest CAGR. This is because tracking solar panels are oriented directly toward the sun as it moves through the sky every day. Also, tracking solar panels can increase the output of Solar Panels by 20-30% which improves the economics of the solar panel project. For instance, in Dec 2022, Amara Raja Power Systems selected nextracker to supply solar trackers for NTPC's 306 MWp Nokh Power Plant in the state of Rajasthan, India.

For a better understanding of the market adoption of the transparent solar panels industry, the market is analyzed based on its worldwide presence in the countries such as North America (U.S., Canada, Rest of North America), Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, Rest of Asia-Pacific), Rest of World. Europe is anticipated to grow at a substantial CAGR during the forecast period. This is mainly due to technological advancements, rising environmental pollution, the rising price of fuels, and growing awareness among people toward clean energy, high investments by governments of countries such as Germany, Switzerland and others are expected to drive the growth of the transparent solar panels market. Also, European nations are among the front runner in renewable energy sector across the globe. For instance, according to EEA early estimates, by 2021, 22% of the energy was consumed in the EU, was generated from renewable sources. In addition, in July 2021, Dutch solar project developer Groenleven, a unit of German renewable energy company BayWa re, completed construction on two floating PV plants with an aggregate capacity of 70.9 MW in the Netherlands. Furthermore, with the increasing demand for electricity and low maintenance cost of solar panels leads to be cheaper in the long run which makes them a good investment in private households. Thus, all these factors are increasing the demand for transparent solar panels in the region.

Some of the major players operating in the market include: Ciel & Terre International, JA SOLAR Technology Co. Ltd, KYOCERA Corp, LONGi Solar, Trina Solar, Vikram Solar Ltd, Wuxi Suntech Power Co. Ltd, First Solar Inc., Hanwha Qcells Co. Ltd., Canadian Solar Inc.