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Designers Want to Fix the Big Ugly
Problem With Solar Panels
Making green power installations
more visually appealing is key as nations push to
mandate renewables in urban centers to rural beauty spots.
![](images/images_07_28_2022/pic1.jpg)
Solar troughs redirect the sun's
rays to a central tower which heats water to generate steam to power
turbines, at the Abengoa solar-thermal plant in Spain.
Photographer: Markel Redondo/Bloomberg
By Nicholas Swee Yang Lua July 27,
2022
Plans to add tens of millions of solar
panels across the
rooftops of Beijing to stretches of rural Vermont face a common
challenge — opposition from residents who view the modules as an
eyesore.
That’s why designers including
Netherlands-based
Kiki van Eijk are focused on delivering energy arrays emblazoned
with striking patterns, or equipment that blends subtly with existing
nature or architecture, in an attempt to win over critics who worry
adopting clean energy means souring the appeal of their neighborhood.
“Solar panels don’t need to look
industrial and clean,” said van Eijk, whose designs with partner Joost
van Bleiswijk for solar roof tiles and facade modules feature imagery
of sunset tones, rain drops, brushstrokes and leaves. “They have a
soul.” Initial small-scale samples are currently being installed in
homes in the Netherlands, with larger deployments planned for next
year.
![](images/images_07_28_2022/pic2.jpg)
Top layers of
solar panels emblazoned with striking patterns. Photographer: Mariëlle
Leenders
Public opposition to
conventional rectangular and black arrays is becoming a more serious
risk to efforts to accelerate adoption of zero-emission electricity
generation, particularly as policymakers consider mandating the
installation of solar panels in homes and industrial facilities. Total
global solar installations are likely to rise about 30% this year
compared to 2021, BloombergNEF analysts said in a May
report.
California regulators in
August approved plans to expand solar panel requirements to
cover apartments and commercial buildings. Japan is considering solar
policies for new public buildings, while China expects to accelerate
additions of rooftop panels after adding a record volume last year.
Read more: Every Roof in Japan Could Have Solar Panels in the Future
Focusing on aesthetics
does come at a cost to efficiency. Compared to conventional panels,
van Eijk’s designs deliver around 10% less power because the solar
cells are concealed beneath a printed pattern. Other alternatives like
transparent photovoltaic glass can have higher losses, and in some
cases provide only 60% of the capacity of similar-sized traditional
equipment.
Though equipment modified
to look more appealing produces less electricity, the products are
likely to be adopted in higher volumes, and over larger surface areas
— potentially wrapped around buildings, or across the lengths of
roofs.
Here are five examples of
global projects that have already attempted to combine solar
installations with elegant design.
Guoco Tower,
Singapore
![](images/images_07_28_2022/pic3.jpg)
A garden area
at Guoco Tower, Singapore. Photographer: Lauryn Ishak/Bloomberg
Solar panels on Guoco
Tower in Singapore aren’t camouflaged, but you wouldn’t notice them
even if you searched. Photovoltaic glass literally forms the 3,000
square-meter roof of the ground-floor pavilion, filling the space
where people do yoga and shop at outdoor markets with soft natural
light. The canopy transforms sunlight into about 2% of the
development’s annual energy needs.
Hanwha
Headquarters, Seoul
![](images/images_07_28_2022/pic4.jpg)
Solar panels on Hanwha’s
Seoul headquarters’ facade. Source: Hanwha Corp.
Hanwha
Group, which includes a major producer of solar equipment, remodeled
its Seoul headquarters to intersperse panels between existing windows
on the building’s facade. The panels, known as building-integrated
photovoltaics, sit at an angle to optimize sunlight
absorption, according to Ben van Berkel, principal architect at UNStudio,
which carried out the work. The 884 panels generate about
300 kilowatts of electricity a day, lowering the site’s power
costs, while other aspects of the redesign to maximize natural light
and heat have helped lower energy consumption by about 40%.
FTX Arena, Miami
![](images/images_07_28_2022/pic5.jpg)
The FTX
Arena in Miami, Florida. Photographer: Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images
The home
arena of the National Basketball Association’s Miami Heat is another
venue that discreetly includes solar technology to help account for a
proportion of its energy consumption. A pavilion that officially
opened in 2016 includes circular skylights featuring about 300
crystalline silicon photovoltaic glass units. The modules allow the
stadium to generate about 34,500 kilowatt-hours a year.
Dubai Frame,
Dubai
![](images/images_07_28_2022/pic6.jpg)
The Dubai Frame
architectural landmark in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Photographer:
Christopher Pike/Bloomberg
Dubai Frame, the
rectangular skyscraper that opened in the city’s Zabeel Park in 2018,
features semi-transparent, gold colored photovoltaic glass installed
on its rainscreen cladding. The panes, which cover about 1,200 meters
square, help account for “a large quantity” of energy demand in the
48-floor high structure, according to Onyx Solar Group LLC, which
worked on the project.
Hapcheon, South
Korea
![](images/images_07_28_2022/pic7.jpg)
Floating solar panels on
the Hapcheon Dam. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg
Away from cityscapes, installers are also making efforts to make
projects more attractive. Residents in Hapcheon in South Korea
requested that a floating solar plant on a reservoir have its more
than 92,000 panels arranged into the shape of
plum blossoms. The site features 17 giant flowers along the
12-mile stretch of water. Floating projects are particularly important
in dense nations with little available land for renewables.
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