Overall objective

1. Subtask 1: Quality Assurance: Quality Assurance Schemes for Improved Reliability and Lower Global Life Cycle Costs
2. Subtask 2: Technical Issues: Technical Recommendations for the Cost Reduction of Systems

The main targets are technical groups such as:

• Project developers
• System designers
• Industrial manufacturers
• Installers
• Utilities
• QA organizations
• End users

The main method of work consists of a practical approach through identification, selection, and observation of case studies. After the analysis of the collected data, a collaborative work programme will be developed to make recommendations. In relation to the large range of stand-alone PV applications, it is necessary to take into account systems operating in industrialized and southern countries as illustrated with the attached pictures.

• Subtask 3.1: Quality assurance
  • Activity 3.11: Critical Review of Implementation of Quality Assurance Schemes Objective
    All phases in the life cycle of stand-alone PV systems must be considered as potential sources of failure to ensure the good management of the quality of installed systems. To provide both end-users and programme managers with guidance for the quality assurance of systems, projects and programmes, participants are working on methodological and practical aspects concerning quality assurance.
    For this topic, participants aim to develop quality assurance schemes that will lead to a warranty of service for the end user at reasonable costs (that means as low as possible).
  • Activity 3.12: Technical Aspects of Performance Assessment on Field
    The implementation of Quality Assurance Procedures is often difficult in the field, particularly when the procedures are too complicated or otherwise inappropriate. This is especially the case when considering the installation, operation and maintenance phases.
    In addition, the performance assessment of installed stand-alone PV systems depends on both technical and non technical criteria, such as economic and social criteria.
    Even when methodological and conceptual aspects of the performance assessment have been implemented, realistic methods and concrete supports must be recommended for use in the field and laboratory.

• Subtask 3.2: Technical issues
  • Activity 3.21: Hybrid Systems
    This subtask aims to be a technical contribution to cost reduction through standardisation and modularity in order to facilitate large scale dissemination of PV Hybrid systems.
    One hand, the choice of a system to service specific need is complicated. In the first place, no two applications are identical, while in the second, there is a large range of available system architectures from which to choose. When the lack of broad community experience with the relevant technologies, and the immature nature of the supporting industry to the situation are added, the need for a simple set of guidelines to help prospective users choose or identify the technologies that might be appropriate for their situation becomes obvious. That’s why guidelines are prepared to assist people with a limited background in this industry; to navigate them through the mine field of market hype and misinformation, and, to determine for themselves, a system configuration that approximates their specific needs. Final results under preparation are “Guidelines for Selecting SAPV Systems” whose objectives are to provide a facility that assists prospective users of PV and, to identify the system configuration that reflects the best commercial practice for their application.
    In collaboration with the Photovoltaic Program of the CANMET Energy Diversification Research Laboratory (CEDRL), Task 3 participants were involved through presentations in the workshop, “PV Horizon,” held in Montréal on September, 10, 2001, which was dedicated to the “International Experience with Hybrid Systems” and “R&D Opportunities for Hybrid Systems.”
  • Activity 3.22: Storage
    This subtask aims to be a technical contribution to cost reduction of the storage function in PV and PV Hybrid systems by decreasing investment costs and increasing performance (capacity, lifetime, etc.) through design, selection procedures of storage systems, and energy management recommendations. One of the main objectives of this activity is to show that there should be a correlation between the type of batteries and the type of application and to recommend, in a situation of call for tender, how to specify the best battery for a given application.
  • Activity 3.23: Load/Appliances: Load Management and New Applications
    This subtask aims to be a technical contribution to cost reduction by showing the cost efficiency of a good load management strategy and well adapted appliances designed for low energy power systems. This subtask is an integrating issue which calls for inputs from the other technical issues (2.1 and 2.2) but also from the economic and possibly social analysis coming from Task 9, in order to be able to install a PV system that is not only technically good but also credible and well accepted by the end user. The goal is also to propose design recommendations for very dedicated applications of PV systems.

Accomplishments for 2001 and activities planned for 2002

The current work is to produce “Guidelines for Performance Assessment of SAPV Systems and Guidelines for Monitoring Equipment and Protocols for SAPV Systems.” The objectives of this cooperative work are:

• To prescribe a process that, if followed, will reassure investors, project managers, performance auditors, equipment manufacturers, and servicing firms, that the performance data they use are robust, equitable and representative
• To underpin a case study record that provides prospective PV users with relevant, comparative information about PV technology and its applications
• In conjunction with the above, to establish a more qualitative set of performance indicators that will enable the layperson to shortcut the scientific approach to performance assessment

• Subtask 3.1: Quality assurance
  • Activity 3.11: Critical Review of Implementation of Quality Assurance Schemes Objective
    A comprehensive study of international guidelines has been undertaken in 2000. The results of these surveys form the basis for a document which is available on the Task 3 website. Following this action, Task 3 participants completed this first basis on current guidelines as developed in their respective countries.
  • Activity 312: Technical Aspects of Performance Assessment on Field
    Preparation of recommendations dedicated to “Quality Management” is under way. The aim is to provide new project managers with realistic and efficient recommendations, based on Task 3 experience, concerning management of the quality of SAPV systems. The main objective is to create awareness for the potential actors in that more attention must be given to the management of the quality of a system than to simply to manage a good design ; a lot of effort must be implemented in each step of a project. It is planned to produce the final document in 2003, including a collection of quality management data as observed in the field: real practices, success and failure stories collected through feed back from case studies.

• Subtask 3.2: Technical issues
  • Activity 3.22: Storage
    Collaborative work was developed to assess various strategy regulations.
    A technical work programme was undertaken concerning the test of batteries to be used in SAPV systems. The main objectives are:
    • To provide project managers involved in a battery selection process for PV applications with data
    • To focus the activities of laboratories involved in battery testing on a few selected test procedures
    • To promote the setting up of a database to make more data available and to make them more visible As learned from experience, relatively high costs of remote maintenance are a major factor in the global life cycle cost of hybrid systems.
    Technical development should concentrate on the following recommendations:
    • Encourage modularity to facilitate industry expansion and reduce the capital cost of systems
    • Monitoring system performance to help reduce the maintenance costs
    • Promote controller and user interfaces able to reduce operation complexity and maximize fuel savings
  • Activity 3.23: Load/Appliances: Load Management and New Applications
    A survey of main recurrent technical difficulties with DC and AC appliances as seen in the field was achieved. This survey considers some poor compliance of the technical characteristics of DC and AC appliances with the power and energy management design of a stand-alone PV system. The cooperative work is to share experience by collecting many examples (of difficulties experienced and adopted solutions) as really seen in the field that could be used as a reference by designers, installers and operators to prevent problems on existing or future systems. A paper was presented at the 17th European PV Conference in Munich. A document called “Problems Related to Appliances in Autonomous PV Applications,” has been produced and is available on the Task 3 website.
    Another activity has been launched relative to the Demand Side Management (DSM). DSM for Renewable Energy systems involves the change of energy use habits of consumers not only by using high efficiency appliances, decreasing the peak of the load curve, but also by using energy in a way that the load is well matched with the renewable source. This is different from classic DSM methodologies where the objective is essentially to have more or less a flat load curve by smoothing daily peaks and valleys of shifting energy-use to off-peak hours.

Key deliverables (2001 and planned)

• Management of the Quality of SAPV Systems: Recommended Practices
• Guidelines for Performance Assessment of SAPV Systems
• Guidelines for SAPV Selecting Systems
• Guidelines for selecting batteries to be used in SAPV systems
• DSM Management in SAPV Systems

Participating countries, key participants in 2001 and their organizations

Meeting schedule (2001 and planned 2002)

• 18th Task 3 Experts Meeting, March 2001, Norway
• 19th Task 3 Experts Meeting, September 2001, Canada
• 20th Task 3 Experts Meeting, March 2002, Spain
• 21th Task 3 Experts Meeting, September 2002, Japan