Overall objective

• SUBTASK 1: Quality Assurance: Quality assurance schemes for improved reliability and lower global life cycle costs.
• 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 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.
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Subtask 1: Quality assurance

• Activity 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 share their experience 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).
  • Major activities in 2003
    The results of the survey undertaken in 2000 form the basis for a document which is available on the IEA PVPS website. Following this action, Task 3 participants completed this first basis on current guidelines as developed in their respective countries.

  

• Activity 12 : Technical Aspects of Performance Assessment on Field - Quality management
  • Objective
    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. Under these considerations, the objective is to provide new project managers with realistic and efficient recommendations based on Task 3 participants experience concerning the management of the quality of SAPV systems.
  • Major technical activities in 2003
    The document IEA-PVPS T3-15:2003 “Managing the Quality of Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems - Recommended Practices” has been published. The document aims to provide simple but effective guidance in order to implement quality procedures within a realistic project timeframe. Implementing these procedures will be less expensive than solving the problems that result when the quality issues are not properly addressed.
    The main objective is to make potential actors aware that there is more attention to give to the management of the quality of a system than simply to manage a good design; a lot of effort must be implemented in each step of a project. Real practices are introduced in this report, as well as both success and failure stories collected through feed back from case studies.

Subtask 2: Technical issues

• Activity 21: Hybrid Systems
  • Objective
    This subtask aims to be a technical contribution to cost reduction through standardization and modularity in order to facilitate large scale dissemination of PV Hybrid systems.
  • Major activities in 2003
    One of the activity of experts was to prepare proposals for performance indicators of SAPV systems and monitoring guidelines, setting out how to equitably monitor system performance for a range of SAPV system.
    The current activity is to produce “Guidelines for Performance Assessment of Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems.” The objectives of the 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 are using is robust, equitable and representative;
    • 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, establish a more qualitative set of performance indicators that will enable the layperson to shortcut the scientific approach to performance assessment.
    Another technical report entitled IEA PVPS T3-13:2003 “Monitoring Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems: Methodology and Equipment - Recommended Practices,” has been published. The guidelines provide a reference manual in which the information is organized so that a user is able to focus on a specific performance aspect, avoiding irrelevant data collection.
    To achieve this, the performance parameters have been organized into customized data sets designed to cover the spectrum of likely monitoring needs. There is a set of general parameters that provide the site information that is universal for all case studies. Thereafter, purpose specific sets include: quality assurance parameters, commercial evaluation parameters, scientific evaluation of system performance, battery performance parameters, appliance performance parameters, user-satisfaction and adaptation to technology. A person proposing to monitor the performance of a system need only peruse the index to identify the set that best suits their purpose, then turn to the relevant section of the guidelines to view the parameters recommended for measurement.
    As a third activity, the technical report IEA-PVPS T3-14:2003 “Protection Against the Effects of Lightning on Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems – Common Practices,” has been published. This report first gathers general information about photovoltaic installations lightning protection measures and then describes lightning experts’ recommendations for different specific installations. Six examples of common installations with photovoltaic systems are considered separately.

  

• Activity 22: Storage
  • Objective
    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.
  • Major activities in 2003
    A technical work programme was undertaken concerning possible alternatives to lead-acid batteries for short, middle and long term storage (main performance, field of applications, estimated costs).
    Opportunities of storage systems relevant for Stand-Alone Photovoltaic systems are under study. The technical report, “Alternative Technologies to Lead-Acid batteries in Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems,” is under progress. The general objective of this document is to make the state of the art about the various possibilities of energy storage that could be used in stand-alone photovoltaic (SAPV) systems.
    The document describes the main features of different storage technologies and emphasizes the main advantages and drawbacks of each. The baseline of the study is the lead-acid battery, which is widely used in many applications. Other potential technologies are then studied to assess their characteristics and performances and evaluate their possible use in SAPV systems instead of classical lead-acid batteries.
    This technical report is composed of three parts: the first one is a short analysis of lead-acid battery performances and limits, the second one presents the characteristics of the other technologies of energy storage and the last one deals with their specific use in SAPV systems.
    As a contribution to assist people (project managers, end-users, etc.) in selecting lead-acid batteries to be used in SAPV systems (in order to decrease investment, operation, and maintenance costs), a study was launched to produce guidelines for “Selecting Batteries to be used in Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems.” In a photovoltaic system, the energy storage part has a deep impact on the whole system performance. The document is divided in three parts that correspond to three main goals:
    • To recall the classifications of lead-acid batteries (according to the type and application) and stand-alone PV systems;
    • To present some case studies showing situations where a bad choice of a battery type has lead to the failure of the PV system;
    • To give recommendations to choose the battery according to key parameters.
    As an annex some results are addressed such as an assessment of management strategies to preserve the state of the battery, a presentation of some methodologies for field testing, the description of characteristics of testing procedures that permit to evaluate battery performances and finally, a cost analysis for the whole life cycle of the battery.

• Activity 23: Load / Appliances: Load Management and New Applications
  • Objective
    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.
  • Major activities in 2003
    The activity launched in 2002 relative to the Demand Side Management (DSM), has been achieved. DSM for Renewable Energy Systems involves the change of consumers energy use habits 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.
    The technical report IEA-PVPS T3-16:2003 “Demand Side Management for Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems,” has been published.
    When planning and designing stand-alone PV and PV hybrid systems, substantial effort and expense go into the design of electricity generation and storage sub-components. Very often, demand side characteristics are overlooked or considered to be of minor importance. Nevertheless, reasons for system failure can often be found on the neglected demand side. The document aims at increasing awareness for project planners, system designers and energy service companies of the importance and efficiency of demand side management in stand-alone PV power systems.

Other activities

• Task 3 Workshop for Dissemination of results of the Present Programme, March 2003, Switzerland;
• Participation to the ISES Solar World Congress, June 2003, Sweden;
• Contribution to a Workshop on Hybrid Systems, September 2003, Germany;
• Dissemination of activities and results of the present programme, December 2003, Japan.

Publications

• Reports 2003
  • Report IEA PVPS T3-13: 2003: Monitoring Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems: Methodology and Equipment - Guidelines.
  • Report IEA PVPS T3-14: 2003: Protection Against the Effects of Lightning on Stand-Alone Photovoltaic systems – Common Practices.
  • Report IEA PVPS T3-15: 2003: Management of the Quality of Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems – Recommended Practices.
  • Report IEA PVPS T3-16: 2003: Demand Side Management in Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems.
• Reports to be published in 2004
  • Report IEA PVPS T3-18: 2004: Selection of Batteries to be Used in Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems – Guidelines.
  • Report IEA PVPS T3-19: 2004: Alternative Technologies to Lead-Acid Batteries in Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems.

Task 3 participants

Meeting schedule (2003 and planned 2004)

• 22nd Task 3 Experts Meeting, March 2003, Switzerland.
• 23rd Task 3 Experts Meeting, September 2003, Germany.
• 24th Task 3 Experts Meeting, March 2004, Italy.
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