Foreword ;4%Co)Rw
The international Energy Agency (IEA) founded in November 1974, is an autonomous body <n;9IU
within the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |ee A>z"I
(OECD) which carries out a comprehensive programme of energy co-operation among its 23 _HAtTW
member countries. The European Commission also participates in the work of the Agency. -eQ>3x&3r
The IEA PhotoVoltaic Power Systems Programme (PVPS) is one of the collaborative R&D \aY<| 7zK
agreements established within the IEA, and since 1993, its Participants have been conducting a Pg''>6w>
variety of joint projects in the applications of Photovoltaic conversion of solar energy into [C0"v OTUb
electricity. _spW~"|G
The Overall programme is headed by an Executive Committee composed of one representative q* ^m8
from each participating country, while the management of individual research projects (Tasks) Ue?mb$ykC.
is the responsibility of Operating Agents. Currently nine Tasks have been established in the K!<3|d
IEA PVPS programme. w$evAPuz^
The Twenty one members are: Australia (AUS), Austria (AUT), Canada (CAN), Denmark O30eq 7(
(DNK), European Commission, Finland (FIN), France (FRA), Germany (DEU), Israel (ISR), l^cz&k=+
Italy (ITA), Japan (JPN), Korea (KOR), Mexico (MEX), The Netherlands (NLD), Norway p=d,kY
(NOR), Portugal (PRT), Spain (ESP), Sweden (SWE), Switzerland (CHE), The United 59l9^<{A
Kingdom (GBR), and The United States (USA). K_Q-9 j
Task III of the PVPS programme, active since 1993, focuses on the exchange of information, y0R9[ ;b07
quality assurance and technical surveys on stand alone PV applications. Stand-alone PV ~_]i'i i8
systems will continue to represent a significant PV market segment, not only in developing w;wgh`ur
countries, but also in the important home markets of industrial countries. Experts from 15 IEA ` 'vNHY
countries are sharing their experiences in this area. h N U.y
This battery guide is intended for a wide use also close to the end customers to increase the .gJv})Vi
hands on battery knowledge and thereby increase the system reliability and reduce the lifecycle r .`&z
cost for battery storage in small stand alone photovoltaic systems. Also some basic >4^,[IO/
environmental concerns are addressed. The report has been prepared under the supervision of h`@z61UI
Task III by: M/abd 7q
Bo Andersson, Catella Generics, (battery expertise) (SWE) 8+n *S $
Staffan Ulvönäs, (illustrations) (SWE) _, r6t
Bengt Perers, Vattenfall Utveckling AB (PV system and applications expertise) (SWE) kZ K1{
06 December 1999
