Foreword ?#< Fxme
The international Energy Agency (IEA) founded in November 1974, is an autonomous body 6$4G& ' J
within the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development R N5\, >+
(OECD) which carries out a comprehensive programme of energy co-operation among its 23 [~W"$sT
member countries. The European Commission also participates in the work of the Agency. ?NGM<nK;7
The IEA PhotoVoltaic Power Systems Programme (PVPS) is one of the collaborative R&D "
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agreements established within the IEA, and since 1993, its Participants have been conducting a js^@tgf$x&
variety of joint projects in the applications of Photovoltaic conversion of solar energy into W% YJ.%I
electricity. c;xL .
The Overall programme is headed by an Executive Committee composed of one representative U8c0N<j
from each participating country, while the management of individual research projects (Tasks) aG%KiJ7KEN
is the responsibility of Operating Agents. Currently nine Tasks have been established in the |[>`3p "&
IEA PVPS programme. 6|V713\
The Twenty one members are: Australia (AUS), Austria (AUT), Canada (CAN), Denmark z[M LMf[c
(DNK), European Commission, Finland (FIN), France (FRA), Germany (DEU), Israel (ISR), K,&)\r kzD
Italy (ITA), Japan (JPN), Korea (KOR), Mexico (MEX), The Netherlands (NLD), Norway 6Hi3h{
(NOR), Portugal (PRT), Spain (ESP), Sweden (SWE), Switzerland (CHE), The United L
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Kingdom (GBR), and The United States (USA). z\pT nteO
Task III of the PVPS programme, active since 1993, focuses on the exchange of information, ^ ' lx5+-
quality assurance and technical surveys on stand alone PV applications. Stand-alone PV (Q o
systems will continue to represent a significant PV market segment, not only in developing pD9*WK Ef*
countries, but also in the important home markets of industrial countries. Experts from 15 IEA <T)9mJYr
countries are sharing their experiences in this area. ]c tUl #j
This battery guide is intended for a wide use also close to the end customers to increase the '\(Us^Ug
hands on battery knowledge and thereby increase the system reliability and reduce the lifecycle R56:}<Y,
cost for battery storage in small stand alone photovoltaic systems. Also some basic [< }:b>a
environmental concerns are addressed. The report has been prepared under the supervision of T6=c9f?7
Task III by: B[F x2r`0
Bo Andersson, Catella Generics, (battery expertise) (SWE) MH. ,dB&
Staffan Ulvönäs, (illustrations) (SWE) Lco JltY{5
Bengt Perers, Vattenfall Utveckling AB (PV system and applications expertise) (SWE) V k5}d[[l
06 December 1999
