Overall objective

All countries participating in the PVPS Programme are members of Task 1. To meet the Task 1 objective and deliver the expected outcomes, Task 1 participants focus on understanding the needs of their stakeholders and target audiences for the various Task 1 deliverables and establishing mechanisms for communication both within and outside the PVPS Programme. This public website will continue to be refined to reflect the requirements for information that are identified by Task 1 participants and others.

Task 1 activities are organized into the following subtasks:

• Subtask 1.1: Status Survey Reports
  A published International Survey Report(Trends in Photovoltaic Applications) is compiled from the National Survey Reports produced annually by all countries participating in the IEA PVPS Programme. These national reports can now be found on the public website through the countries' pages. The International Survey Report presents the current status and interprets trends relating to systems and components being used in the various PV power systems markets, as well as changing applications within those markets. This is reported in the context of the business environment, policies and relevant non-technical factors in the participating countries.
  International Survey Reports were initially produced every two years, but a shorter report is now produced annually to provide more timely information. The first issue was printed in March 1995 and a further seven issues had been published by the end of 2003.

• Subtask 1.2: Newsletter
  A printed, colour newsletter, PVPower, is prepared and distributed to stakeholders by post each six months to present highlights of the IEA PVPS Programme as well as general features of interest about PV systems and components and market applications. Task 1 participants provide material of interest to the newsletter editor and ensure that the newsletter reaches its target audience in the respective countries.
  Nineteen issues of the newsletter had been published by the end of 2003.

• Subtask 1.3: Special Information Activities
  A variety of activities, including workshops and documents, provide analysis and summary assessment of special topics. These are directed at technical, economic, environmental and social aspects of PV systems and applications and are usually managed by a specific country or a group of countries from the Task 1 membership.
  Activities to date include workshops and published reports on Environmental aspects of PV power systems, Photovoltaics in competitive electricity markets and Added values of photovoltaic power systems. Other activities include Buy back rates for grid-connected photovoltaic power systems, Photovoltaic components and systems: Status of R&D in IEA countries, 1985-1995 and Photovoltaics in cold climates.

Summary of Task 1 accomplishments for 2003

• Subtask 1.1: Status Survey Reports
  The 8th issue of the International Survey Report was published in August 2003 and analyzed data collected between 1992 and the end of 2002. In 2003 the report was prepared by a small Task 1 group on the basis of the National Survey Reports (NSRs) prepared by all Task 1 participants. Nineteen out of twenty countries produced the required NSR (or at least provided information). Fifteen of these countries provided material close to the agreed date.
  These National Survey Reports are funded by the participating countries and provide a wealth of information. They are available from the countries' pages and are a key component of the collaborative work carried out within the PVPS Programme.
  Task 1 participants share information on how to most effectively gather data in their respective countries.
  The International Survey Report is a 24 page colour publication with tables, figures and photographs that is funded by the PVPS Common Fund. Copies are distributed by post by Task 1 participants to their identified national target audiences and are provided at selected conferences and meetings. The report is also available on this public website, can be downloaded as a complete document, and figures and tables can be downloaded separately.

  

• Subtask 1.2: Newsletter
  Editorial policy for the newsletter continued to emphasize that projects and products must be tangible to be included. Issue 18 of the newsletter was published as a special issue for the IEA-PVPS 10th anniversary conference in Osaka, Japan in May 2003. Issue 19 was published in December 2003. Current and back issues of PVPower are available from the section PVPower.

• Subtask 1.3: Special Information Activities
  During 2003 work continued at a low level on activities (ongoing and new) that fall under the umbrella of special information activities. The significant issue affecting the ability to progress these activities is that they are mostly without a ‘lead country’ providing the required resources. Task 1 interests that will benefit from a close working relationship with the new Task 10 include market transformation, and the added values of PV. Other interests will benefit from working more closely with the industry associations, and include cost of energy from PV, value of PV business activity and the value chain of the PV industry. The agreed position is that, without the resources required to carry out the detailed analyses that some of these topics require, Task 1 will build on existing activities by collecting and disseminating related information to stakeholders and target audiences.
  An exception to the above is the PV Utility Forum which is being progressed by Denmark. The vision is to establish an international forum for electric utilities, network operators and regulators for exchange and dissemination of information and experiences on grid-connected PV (this may then evolve into a broader distributed generation activity that may be of interest to the IEA generally). The objectives are to openly share both positive and negative experiences, perceptions and ideas.

Summary of Task 1 activities planned for 2004

• Subtask 1.1: Status Survey Reports
  The target date for publication of the ninth issue of the International Survey Report is August 2004, with the electronic version to be made available in July 2004. It is planned to broaden the report to include information from non-PVPS countries, and to further highlight industry development matters. National Survey Reports will be completed by the end of May 2004, based on the revised guidelines and data collection pro forma, so that the information can be incorporated in and analyzed for the International Survey Report.

• Subtask 1.2: Newsletter
  Task 1 participants will continue to review and update the target audiences within their countries, and to seek feedback regarding preferred format (e.g. electronic or printed) and content from these audiences. The newsletter will increasingly be provided to countries and institutions outside the PVPS membership.
  PVPower Nos. 20 & 21 will be published in April 2004 and October 2004 respectively, maintaining current editorial policy.

• Subtask 1.3: Special Information Activities
  The matters of interest to Task 1 participants will increasingly be incorporated into existing activities – such as the newsletter, the survey reports, the website – and as input to other tasks except where a dedicated activity, for example the PV Utility Forum, can be supported.
  Denmark proposes to hold the first two-day workshop of the PV Utility Forum in Denmark, in the second half of 2004, with about 50 invited international participants. It is envisaged that the general framework of the workshop would be key presentations outlining experiences, engagement of attendees for ongoing participation in the forum, definition of a work plan and associated responsibilities, and consideration of future activities.

Industry involvement

Key deliverables (2003 and planned)

• Trends in photovoltaic applications in selected IEA countries between 1992 and 2002 Report IEA-PVPS T1-12: 2003;
• Newsletter – PVPower issues 18 and 19.
• Individual National Survey Reports are included each year under “Country information” on the public website, with tables and graphs able to be downloaded. Guidelines and data collection pro forma for the NSRs are produced and updated each year.

Participants

Meeting schedule (2003 and planned 2004)

• The 22nd Task 1 Participants’ meeting was held in Basingstoke, UK, 5-7 March 2003.
• The 23rd Task 1 Participants’ meeting was held in Uppsala, Sweden, 10-12 September 2003.
• The 24th Task 1 Participants’ meeting will be held in Daejeon City, Korea, 3-5 March 2004.
• The 25th Task 1 Participants’ meeting will be held in Australia, 8-10 September 2004.