IEA PVPS Task 14: Solar PV in the 100% Renewable Energy Source based Power System (working period 2018 - 2024)

The IEA-PVPS Task 14, which was completed in 2024, promoted international cooperation to create the technical basis for a 100% renewable energy-based electricity supply with photovoltaics as a central pillar. The task focused on integral approaches for the operation and planning of power supply systems with photovoltaics, as well as integration into smart grids, with the aim of using the energy generated optimally and efficiently to cover consumption.

Short Description

Objectives

As platform for international cooperation in the field of integrating photovoltaics (PV) into the power supply system, IEA-PVPS Task 14, which is jointly led by Austria and Germany, comprises a wide range of activities to promote and improve the system integration, optimisation and management of photovoltaic systems against the backdrop of an electricity supply based 100% on renewables.

In work period III, which ended in 2024, the following overarching topics took centre stage

Integral approaches for the operation and planning of power supply systems based 100% on photovoltaic solar energy and other renewables, especially wind energy.
Integration of photovoltaic solar energy in smart grids with the aim of utilising the energy generated optimally and efficiently to cover consumption.

As part of the IEA research cooperation, the dissemination of information and the exchange of experience within and outside Task 14 formed a central part of the work programme:

Cooperation with electricity utilities, industry partners and other stakeholders to enable technologies and methods for the integration of renewable PV technologies into electrical grids on a broad basis.
Organisation and implementation of 'Task 14 Grid Integration Workshops' with international experts, grid operators and industry.
Joint technical publications, keynote speeches and own IEA-PVPS Task 14 sessions at international conferences.
Intensive exchange with experts from other IEA technology programmes (TCP), in particular the IEA Wind Task 25, which deals with the large-scale integration of wind energy.

Results

During the project period, IEA-PVPS Task 14 was successfully further developed as a central research activity in the IEA-PVPS programme and expanded as a network for the exchange of information on the integration of photovoltaics. The implementation of the work programme and the sustained commitment of the international team of experts can be seen as an indicator of successful coordination. With 18 published IEA-PVPS reports (7 of them during the project period) and a large number of joint publications, Task 14 is one of the most extensive and productive activities in the PVPS programme.

Thanks to participation in the research co-operation, the networking of Austrian research at an international level has been expanded and access to a global network has been created. The exchange of experience within the framework of the IEA PVPS programme provided a unique opportunity to benefit from international experience and at the same time to position Austria, and AIT in particular, as a centre of expertise in the field of grid integration.

Project Images

Terms of use: The pictures listed underneath the header “Project Pictures” originate from the projects in the frame of the programmes City of Tomorrow, Building of Tomorrow and the IEA Research Cooperation. They may be used credited for non-commercial purposes under the Creative Commons License Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC).

Project Partners

AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH
DI Roland Bründlinger
Giefinggasse 2
A-1210 Vienna
Tel.: +43 (0) 50 550
E-Mail: roland.bruendlinger@ait.ac.at

Dr. Thomas Strasser
E-Mail: thomas.strasser@ait.ac.at

Participants

Austria (Lead), Austria (Task Manager), Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, European Commission, Germany (Task Manager), Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Switzerland, Spain, United States of America