A major activity of IEA  PVPS Task 1 Exchange and dissemination of information on PV Power Systems is to survey and report on the status of PV power systems applications in the countries participating in the PVPS Programme. The second International Survey Report (ISR) in the series has recently been published, providing an update for the years 1994 and 1995.

The survey reports are intended to meet the needs of those responsible for developing the business strategies of the PV companies, and to aid the development of medium-term plans for electricity utilities. They should also give guidance to government officials responsible for setting energy policy and preparing national energy plans. Data for the report were drawn from detailed national reports supplied by each participating country. The report covers the Market Today, Demonstration Programmes and Projects, Industry Status and PV system development, and Policy initiatives and Trends.

Building on the first ISR, the new report highlights some interesting trends in PV applications within the reporting countries. The installed power for all applications - broken down into off-grid domestic, off-grid non-domestic, grid-connected distributed and grid-connected centralized - has increased consistently since 1990, though the growth rate has not been steady: cumulative installed power capacity rose from 53,5 MWp in 1990 to 175, 7 MWp at the end of 1995. Noticeably, the growth rate in on-grid power applications has been substantially larger than that for off-grid (see table). However, off-grid power applications totalling 124,2 MWp still account for a large majority of the total installed capacity of 175,7 MWp.

Production of power modules in the reporting countries - defined for the purposes of the survey as modules exceeding 40 Wp - is calculated at just over 56 MWp in 1995, and is estimated to account for approximately 80% of total world production. Crystalline silicon dominates the world market for power modules, accounting for almost 90% of production. The value of PV business in the reporting countries, based on 1995 turnover from module manufacturers, consultants and system suppliers, was estimated to be around USD 173 million, with almost one third of this attributable to the USA. Japan and Germany between them contributed another third, with the remainder coming from the other fourteen countries. Research and development, demonstration and market simulation programmes, contributed over 47% of this business.

Average module prices - weighted according to production in each country - are recorded at between 4,1 USD/Wp and 5,5 USD/Wp. The lower price corresponds to larger orders (above 100 kWp) of amorphous silicon modules, the higher price to small orders (less than 1 kWp) of crystalline silicon modules.

The survey sets the context for the industry analysis by outlining the respective national and international attitudes towards the technology. It illustrates applications, with appropriate example case-studies and outlines the framework for future PV deployment by addressing issues such as governments' environmental and energy policies, national and international promotional efforts and developments in standards.

Information
Copies of the second International Survey Report and the Executive Summary are available from the national Task 1 members.

Installed PV Power and module production in the reporting countries

year	cumulative installed off-grid power [MWp]	increase in installed off-grid power [%]	cumulative installed grid-connected power [MWp]	increase in installed grid-connected power [%]	module production [MWp]
1990	49,8		3,7
1991	61,1	22,7	6,57	76
1992	79,0	29,3	13,5	108
1993	92,3	16,8	24,3	80	52,1
1994	107,7	16,7	35,5	46
1995	124,2	15,3	51,5	45	56,1

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