About IEA PVPS

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Solar Power Europe, European Union, Finland, France, Germany, International Copper Association, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA), South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United States.

The IEA Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (PVPS) conducts joint projects in the application of photovoltaic conversion of solar energy into electricity. Currently eight research projects, so-called Tasks, are established within the IEA PVPS Programme.
The IEA PVPS TCP reports the activities of their collaborative R&D projects in an Annual Report, which is provided to members for distribution in their countries.

Administration

The IEA PVPS TCP’s Executive Committee, or ExCo, has overall control of the information exchange and R&D tasks. The ExCo consists of one member and one alternate member from each contracting party. Most countries permit one contracting party to represent them, such as a government department or agency. Alternate members are often selected from research organizations within the member country.
The ExCo meets twice each year to exchange information on member countries’ R&D programs, discuss work progress on the various tasks, and plan future activities. Each member country/sponsor member has one vote on the ExCo, and decisions are reached by majority vote. Member countries and sponsor members share administration costs for the ExCo through annual contributions to the Common Fund, which supports the efforts of the Secretariat and other expenditures in the annual budget.

Research
In addition to their participation at the Exco, each member country participates in at least one research task. R&D tasks performed are approved by the ExCo as Annexes to the original Implementing Agreement.
Participation to the Task 1 : “Strategic analysis and outreach” is mandatory for all members.
The tasks are managed by an Operating Agent (OA) organization within one of the member countries. The level of effort varies for each task. However, the combined effort devoted to a task is typically the equivalent of several people working full-time for a period of three years.
In most projects, each participating organization agrees to carry out a discrete portion of the work plan.