Foreword SCE5|3j
The international Energy Agency (IEA) founded in November 1974, is an autonomous body y0>asl
within the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development AR AC'F0
(OECD) which carries out a comprehensive programme of energy co-operation among its 23 o^;$-O!/
member countries. The European Commission also participates in the work of the Agency. g1VdP[ Y#
The IEA PhotoVoltaic Power Systems Programme (PVPS) is one of the collaborative R&D S?n k9 T+
agreements established within the IEA, and since 1993, its Participants have been conducting a K^`3 Bg
variety of joint projects in the applications of Photovoltaic conversion of solar energy into [H z_x(t26
electricity. ZB GLwe
The Overall programme is headed by an Executive Committee composed of one representative \y^ O d7F
from each participating country, while the management of individual research projects (Tasks) -_Pd d[M
is the responsibility of Operating Agents. Currently nine Tasks have been established in the | 2BIA m]
IEA PVPS programme. C%d\DuJ5'~
The Twenty one members are: Australia (AUS), Austria (AUT), Canada (CAN), Denmark D_
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(DNK), European Commission, Finland (FIN), France (FRA), Germany (DEU), Israel (ISR), 9{|JmgO!
Italy (ITA), Japan (JPN), Korea (KOR), Mexico (MEX), The Netherlands (NLD), Norway GqumH/;
(NOR), Portugal (PRT), Spain (ESP), Sweden (SWE), Switzerland (CHE), The United n"8vlNeW
Kingdom (GBR), and The United States (USA). 1o)@{x/pd
Task III of the PVPS programme, active since 1993, focuses on the exchange of information, Ov"]&e(I[
quality assurance and technical surveys on stand alone PV applications. Stand-alone PV \#.,@g
systems will continue to represent a significant PV market segment, not only in developing Vrn. #d
countries, but also in the important home markets of industrial countries. Experts from 15 IEA mZ
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countries are sharing their experiences in this area. /%9D$\
This battery guide is intended for a wide use also close to the end customers to increase the >_P7 k5Y^
hands on battery knowledge and thereby increase the system reliability and reduce the lifecycle 4s nL((
cost for battery storage in small stand alone photovoltaic systems. Also some basic r2}u\U4>
environmental concerns are addressed. The report has been prepared under the supervision of =gS?atbX
Task III by: w2!G"oD
Bo Andersson, Catella Generics, (battery expertise) (SWE) $& /JY
Staffan Ulvönäs, (illustrations) (SWE) R>SS\YC'X
Bengt Perers, Vattenfall Utveckling AB (PV system and applications expertise) (SWE) \Zz"%i
06 December 1999
