2001: BP Unveils Solar-Electric Canopies for Gas Stations

A BP gas station in Indianapolis is outfitted with a solar-electric canopy built by BP Solar. The station is the first of a series of “BP Connect” stores, and is intended to serve as a model for all new or refurbished BP stores. The canopy uses translucent PV modules made of thin films of silicon on glass, the “PowerView Semi-Transparent Photovoltaic Module,” and is designed to double both as a power generation system and as a roof or a window. BP will incorporate the system into some 150 stations by 2001, having the modules replace conventional glass in walls, canopies, atriums, entrances, and facades in commercial and residential architecture. [US Department of Energy, 2002 ]