Technology Review has an article on Dow's easy to install solar roof shingles - Solar Shingles See the Light of Day.

Dow Chemical is moving full speed ahead to develop roof shingles embedded with photovoltaic cells. To facilitate the move, the U.S. Department of Energy has backed Dow's efforts with a $17.8 million tax credit that will help the company launch an initial market test of the product later this year.

In October 2009, the chemical giant unveiled its product, which can be nailed to a roof like ordinary shingles by roofers without the help of specially trained solar installers or electricians. The solar shingles will cost 30 to 40 percent less than other solar-embedded building materials and 10 percent less than the combined costs of conventional roofing materials and rack-mounted solar panels, according to company officials.

Dow isn't the first company to incorporate solar cells into building materials. In recent years, a number of leading solar manufacturers have launched small lines of solar shingles, tiles, and window glazes. But as Dow looks to bring its shingles mainstream, other solar manufacturers are backing away from the products. Suntech Power, the Chinese solar maker, and the largest crystalline silicon photovoltaic manufacturer in the world, has several integrated solar systems on the market, but with the recent downturn in new housing construction, the company has focused instead on ramping up conventional photovoltaic panel output, says Jeffrey Shubert, Suntech Power marketing director for North and South America.

The Toronto Star reports that Dow are entering the solar shingle market - Dow at work on solar power shingles. I like the "One day, a person would no more think about buying a house without solar shingles than they would buy a house without plumbing" quote.

Dow Chemical Co. says it aims to start selling power-generating roof shingles by 2011.

The chemical giant has been at work for the past year on a $50 million (U.S.) project called Dow Solar Solutions to develop a product to sell thermoplastic solar roof shingles throughout North America. ...

The researchers have conducted numerous tests in preparing the shingles for market, said Robert Cleereman, senior director of solar development for Dow Chemical. "We've thrown everything you can imagine at them from (simulated) hail to fire to see how they react," he said. "One day, a person would no more think about buying a house without solar shingles than they would buy a house without plumbing".

Technology Review has a look at progress in the world of prefabricated solar rooftop panels (often referred to as BIPV) - Solar Roofing Materials.

In an effort to promote the adoption of solar technology, United Solar Ovonic of Auburn Hills, MI, has teamed with a major roofing company to create a metal roof system that generates electricity from sunlight. The partnership offers seven different prefabricated systems, ranging in capacity from 3 to 120 kilowatts. Tests show that the solar roof panels are rugged and can withstand winds in excess of 160 miles per hour.

In addition to being more aesthetically pleasing than bulky rooftop-mounted panels, solar roofing materials can cut the cost of household solar installations by doing double duty, generating electricity while protecting buildings from the elements. "Ultimately, if you can use one product to do two things, you can save a lot of money," says Cecile Warner, principal engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's National Center for Photovoltaics, in Golden, CO.

Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) have been around since the late 1980s, Warner says, but only lately have they begun to see some success with large commercial and residential developments. Recent advances in flexible thin-film photovoltaic materials--such as those sold by United Solar--are allowing manufacturers to more easily integrate photovoltaics directly into the roofs and facades of buildings.

Nonetheless, many builders remain leery of the new technologies. "In the past, people in the construction industry have been burned by trying out new products," Warner says. In particular, she says, they're wary of products that would be difficult to recall should they prove defective. Roofing materials certainly meet that description. "I think that's probably been the sticking point all along," Warner says. ...

When solar companies partner with construction firms, "it gives the product a lot more credibility, and it helps to break down the barrier to adoption," says Warner.

Centria designs and assembles the solar roof systems using United Solar's adhesive thin films, which can simply be peeled off of their backings and stuck to the roofing materials. The company then distributes the final product through small metal-roofing manufacturers that do the installations for building owners and architects. EnergyPeak comes with a 20-year warranty and, depending on the state in which the solar roof is installed, could pay for itself in less than 10 years, Centria says.

Inhabitat reports that GM is building the World’s Largest Rooftop Solar Power Station in Spain.

A few years ago, if you were to say that the largest rooftop solar panel was going to be installed in a car manufacturing plant we’d probably say that you were, well, bonkers. If you had mentioned that not only would this be true, but that it would be installed in the roof of a General Motors plant, we’d have gladly tried to sell you a bridge. Surprisingly though you’d have been correct. Last week General Motors announced that its Zaragoza plant in Spain will be fitted with the world’s largest rooftop solar power station.

Granted, we didn’t quite know that GM already owns two of the largest solar power stations in the United States, but those are small change compared to the installation that will be undertaken in its European factory. Under Spanish skies, GM plans to install 85,000 solar panels on top of its factory covering over 2 million square feet. These will provide over 10 megawatts of power to both the station (responsible for over 480,000 vehicles) and the local power grid.