The overall objective of Task 2 was to improve the operation, sizing, electrical and economic output of photovoltaic power systems and subsystems by collecting, analyzing and disseminating information on their performance and reliability, providing a basis for their assessment, and developing practical recommendations.
The target groups of this Task were PV system specialists, research laboratories, utilities and manufacturers, system designers, installers, standardization organizations and vocational schools.
To develop an international database containing information on the technical performance, reliability and costs of PV systems and subsystems located worldwide. The database user can select PV system data, present monitoring data and calculated results, and export these data into spread sheet programs. Operational data in the database will reflect at least one year of continuous monitoring with inputs at monthly intervals.
The Task 2 Performance Database contains high quality data of 461 monitored PV plants with an installed capacity of some 12 MWp adapted to various applications (power supply, domestic uses, rural electrification, professional applications) and located worldwide. The Performance Database has been distributed to more than 4000 international users from 90 countries and different fields.
To analyze and validate expertise and performance results of PV systems, both in order to ensure the quality and comparability of information gathered in the Performance Database and to identify high performance products, technologies and design methodology. Activities to date include the work on performance, acceptance and standardization of PV in the built environment, technological choices and strategies with respect to PV system reliability and the improvement of performance prediction with respect to both the solar resource and system performance.
To identify and evaluate the important elements which are responsible for the life cycle economic performance of PV systems by investigating economic data for all key components of PV systems and by gathering information about real life costs of maintenance of PV systems. Balancing the investments, the capital costs against the electrical and economic output of the PV system during its life cycle enhances the knowledge of true life-cycle economic performance of PV systems.
