Task 1

The objective of Task 1 is to promote and facilitate the exchange and dissemination of information on the technical, economic, environmental and social aspects of PV power systems. All countries participating in the PVPS Programme are members of Task 1. Task 1 activities are organized as follows:

Status survey reports

A published report, Trends in Photovoltaic Applications, is compiled from the National Survey Reports (NSRs) produced annually by all countries participating in the IEA PVPS Programme.

The NSRs are funded by the participating countries and provide a wealth of information. The latest versions are available from this website (please see National reports) and are a key component of the collaborative work carried out within the PVPS Programme. These national reports including information on national market frameworks, public budgets, the industry value chain, prices, economic benefits, new initiatives, electricity utility interests, standards and codes, and an overview of R&D activities.

The Trends report (please see Statistic Reports) presents the current status and interprets trends relating to systems and components being used in the various PV power systems markets, the changing applications within those markets and aspects of the PV industry value chain mainly, but not exclusively, in the participating countries. The first issue was printed in March 1995. From 1995 until the end of 2010 fifteen issues of Trend had been published.

Newsletter

For many years a printed, colour newsletter PVPower (please see Newsletter) was prepared and distributed to stakeholders by post and also via the website approximately 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. The newsletter is now called PVPower Update. Task 1 participants provide material of interest to the newsletter editor and ensure that the newsletter reaches its target audience in the respective countries. Thirty four issues of the newsletter had been compiled by mid 2011.

Special Information Activities

Under the auspices of Task 1, diverse activities including workshops (please see 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, Added values of photovoltaic power systems, PV industry roadmaps, Environmental Safety and Health issues, International PV collaboration and market developments, Finance and PV, Information gathering along the PV industry value chain and the Status of PV in the Asia Pacific region (several workshops), Grid parity and beyond, Towards a future of large-scale deployment of PV and  PV in tomorrow's electricity grids - problem or panacea? Early activities included Buy back rates for grid-connected photovoltaic power systems, Photovoltaic components and systems: Status of R&D in IEA countries and Photovoltaics in cold climates.

All Task 1 reports available for download can be found under Archive.