Chapter 1: Introduction
1.2 Problem Statement
The preliminary literature review conducted prior to this research confirmed that BIPV adoption is low, and limited by multiple barriers (Goh et al., 2017; Mousa, 2014; Prieto et al., 2017; Tabakovic et al., 2017; Wall et al., 2012a;
Yang & Zou, 2016). These studies assert that there are barriers which industry stakeholders have put forward based on their understanding, experience and perception of the BIPV market. These stakeholders cut across public and professional spheres; clients, architects, engineers, and developers as well as policy-makers and PV specialists. However, conflict within the construction industry is the result of interactions between team members with different interests and motivations, some more towards planning or others towards cost, which when unchecked, leads to conflict (Li et al., 2012; Yiu and Cheung, 2007; Acharya and Dai, 2006). In some cases, this also leads to controversy and confrontation (Li et al., 2012). With the multidisciplinary nature of BIPV, stakeholder complexity is potentially exacerbated by the inherent character of the technology. As an example, BIPV architectural design objectives may conflict with energy optimization or performance, such as providing outdoor view and allowing daylight versus achieving maximum power output (Attoye et al., 2017). This may raise further within the team, and thus, there is a need to identify the perspectives of various stakeholders who are part of the decision to adopt BIPV during a project.
Furthermore, certain identified BIPV adoption barriers are associated to the ‗parent‘ PV technology, cost, policy, and environmental dimensions.
Summarily, although BIPV has the potential to serve as a versatile mitigation
strategy to address environmental issues, by harnessing renewable energy using a decentralized approach with significant benefits, its global BIPV adoption rate remains low and complicated.
The critical review of the existing studies, carried out during the proposal development for this research, revealed significant gaps in the literature, at both global and national levels. Firstly, although multiple international studies have initiated the discourse on BIPV adoption, there is a need for in-depth information on the interaction and relationships between the barriers, and the drivers. This is vital because it reinforces a robust appreciation for the complexity of the problem, and favors the development of precise solutions. Secondly, more work is needed on developing a strategic approach towards resolving barriers in local contexts. This is necessary as a critical infrastructure which may facilitate widespread adoption, and which can be adapted, modified and applied in various international contexts.
At a national level, the contextual research gap is the lack of current, actionable data on BIPV which has further led to four key issues.
Firstly, at the time this investigation began in 2018, there was no study found in the UAE region which provided current data on BIPV adoption trends, barriers and drivers from a stakeholder perspective. Although, the need for investigating BIPV adoption in the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) in general was brought by (Taleb & Pitts, 2009), there exists a lack of in-depth and holistic consideration of its barriers and drivers, in particular, of UAE residents. Without a research intervention that fills this gap, widespread stakeholder–driven adoption may remain unattainable. This underscores the need for a comprehensive and detailed study on innovation trends, barriers and drivers of adoption in the UAE, which will invariably advance its 2050 Agenda. Additionally, the UAE has strong taste for
innovation; ranked number one in the Arab world, and number 34 globally, on the 2020 Global Innovation Index (GII, 2020). This added fact sets it apart as a prime context for this investigation.
Secondly, existing literature suggests that the last decade witnessed significant developments in BIPV, and PV technology. For example, cell efficiencies have risen to 26.5% for silicon-based types and 38.8% for multiple‐ junction terrestrial cells (Green et al., 2017). Some studies report that a 2-80% increase is power output is achievable by adopting innovative customisation strat egies (Hachem & Elsayed, 2016; Hardy et al., 2013; Nagy et al., 2016; Valckenborg et al., 2016). These are recent advances which suggest that any previous pre-conceptions about BIPV may be quickly rendered obsolete and inaccurate by these developments in the near future.
Thirdly, research in BIPV adoption in the region is arguably crucial as extensive focus has been on carried out in several specific and technical aspects.
These include building integration (Al Dakheel & Tabet Aoul, 2017), parametric design and decision determinants (Attoye et al., 2017), technical performance (Radhi, 2011; Sharples & Radhi, 2013) and thermal management (Hasan et al., 2014; Hasan et al., 2017). However, very limited information is available on the subject of barriers and drivers of BIPV adoption. In addition, there are very few BIPV projects in the country although there are huge solar PV farms, government driven rooftop solar projects, and emphasis on green rating systems that regulate practice related to the built environment. Consequently, although available research proves that the technology works and can be optimized, the lack of research-based information on UAE residents‘ awareness, opinions and concerns may stifle market acceptability.
Finally, there is a need to develop a systematic approach to investigate barriers, and develop a strategy for promoting drivers that work in the context which may be easily adaptable to the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC). The UAE is part of the GCC, and leads the region in aspects of widespread adoption of renewable technology. Filling this gap and providing a clear and specifically designed BIPV diffusion strategy provides the entire region with a leadership in innovation.