IEA PVPS Task 13: Performance, Operation and Reliability of Photovoltaic Systems

IEA PVPS Task 13 is the international and independent forum to exchange, discuss and disseminate information on performance and quality of photovoltaic systems and its components and materials. In its 4th operating period 2022-2025 new concepts and performance of photovoltaics in new applications and its key performance indices will be analysed. The Austrian participation guarantees the feedback of information to the Austrian stakeholders in PV industry.

Short Description

Electrical energy from photovoltaics is playing an increasingly important role in the global energy supply. Massive cost reductions and high potentials led to the fact that in the second quarter of 2022 the capacity of the photovoltaic systems installed worldwide exceeded 1 terawatt. Although the majority of new installations in 2021 took place in the Asia-Pacific region (52%), there are also ambitious plans for Europe and Austria to push the expansion of renewable energy technologies and
photovoltaics in particular.

Due to the rapid market growth - 175 GW of new PV capacity was built in 2021 (+23%) - new production capacities for photovoltaic components are also constantly built up. New processes and materials that promise cost reductions and/or increases in efficiency and performance are therefore introduced to the market very quickly and in large quantities.

Task 13 sees its role to accompany these transformation processes by collecting and processing information on the performance and reliability of photovoltaic systems and their components, and by developing and making available tools in order to be able to compare such information for different application areas and technologies globally.

The work is organised in three content subtasks, with the Austrian partners AIT, PCCL and OFI being involved in all subtasks and most of the activities:

ST1: New PV concepts at material, component, and module level with activities on degradation, repair and reuse, adapting module tests to new technologies and applications, photovoltaics and storage.
ST2: PV performance and durability in specific applications with activities on floating, AgriPV, and tracked bifacial systems, as well as systems with module electronics, and on digital models of the PV systems.
ST 3: Technical-economic key performance indices (KPIs) make it possible to compare how different technologies and system concepts deal with extreme weather and climatic conditions, and what economic advantages and disadvantages are associated with them. The aim is to evaluate existing indicators and to examine how decisions in the (project) development process can be optimally designed in order to minimize risks.

The figure shows graphically that the results of each subtask as well as earlier work in the Task contribute to the KPI mapping. — interaction of technical and economic KPIs from current Subtasks 1, 2 and 3 and from previous phases of IEA PVPS Task 13 on KPI mapping.

ST4 Dissemination bundles these activities by writing collaborative task reports on the content of the subtask activities, contributing to conferences, organizing parallel events at conferences and workshops following the task meetings, and holding webinars.

Publications

Link to the task reports on the international website

Participants

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Danmark, Finland, France, Germany (operating agent), Israel, Italy, Japan, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, United States of
America

Contact Address

Project lead

Karl A. Berger
Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH (AIT)
A-1210 Vienna
Giefingg. 2
karl.berger@ait.ac.at

Project partners

Gabriele C. Eder
Austrian Research Institute for Chemistry and Technology (OFI)
A-1030 Vienna
Franz-Grill-Str. 5, Obj. 213
gabriele.eder@ofi.at

Gernot Oreski, Polymer Competence Center Leoben GmbH (PCCL)
A-8700 Leoben
Roseggerstr. 12
Gernot.oreski@pccl.at