New Markets for Solar Photovoltaic Power Systems

Over the past five years solar photovoltaic (PV) power supply systems have matured and are now being deployed on a much larger scale. The traditional small‐scale remote area power supply systems are still important and village electrification is also a large and growing market but large scale, grid‐connected systems and building integrated systems are now being deployed in many countries. This growth has been aided by imaginative government policies in several countries and the overall result is a growth rate of over 40% per annum in the sales of PV systems. Optimistic forecasts are being made about the future of PV power as a major source of sustainable energy. Plans are now being formulated by the IEA for very large‐scale PV installations of more than 100 MW peak output. The Australian Government has announced a subsidy for a large solar photovoltaic power station of 154 MW in Victoria, based on the concentrator technology developed in Australia. In Western Australia a proposal has been submitted to the...