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PV GAP News |
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Published by:
Global Approval Program for Photovoltaics |
PV GAP Secretariat, c/o IEC Central Office |
| October 2002 |
Volume 4, n° 1 |
As PV GAP goes to the Rome event, we bring you news on developments concerning standards, testing, the PV GAP License Fee, progress in Germany and India, continuing support by the World Bank, but to start with, press articles about PV GAP.
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"PV GAP, a not-for-profit international organization, is dedicated to the sustained growth of global photovoltaics (PV) markets to meet energy needs worldwide in an environmentally sound manner. Our mission is to promote and encourage the use of internationally accepted standards, quality management processes and organizational training in the design, fabrication, installation, sales and service of PV systems. To this end, we partner with PV and related industries, international organizations, testing laboratories, government agencies, financing institutions, non-governmental organizations, and private foundations, in developing and developed countries."
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PRESS ARTICLES ABOUT PV GAP
Photon International and Renewable Energy World, freely available during the Rome event, both contain articles about PV GAP.
In PI, PV GAP Chairman, Peter Varadi, explains, Why we need a Global Approval Program for PV. He notes that cost is the most critical question for companies, and he outlines two extreme examples for module manufacturers, showing that increase due to certification can be as little as 0.03$ cents per watt. This is more than offset by the financial benefits of introducing a Quality Management System (a pre-requisite for PV GAP Approval).
The REW article is a detailed study of the cost of quality. This takes as starting point the latest PI survey of PV modules, in particular the guarantees offered by manufacturers and the mixed assortment of approvals that have been obtained. Four particular cases are analyzed in detail, the conclusion being that PV GAP brings benefits to the manufacturer in every case.
STANDARDS
Here we have four items of news, two in PV GAP and two in IEC TC 82.
In PV GAP, a PV GAP Recommended Specification, PVRS 7, drafted by the PV GAP Technical Committee, has just been approved by the Board, dealing with DC supplied lighting systems with fluorescent lamps for PV stand-alone systems. This refers to CIEMAT Component test procedures.
PVRS 5 on batteries is in the course of being drafted and will refer to the Indonesian standard SNI 04-6392-2000, recognized by the World Bank.
In IEC TC 82, two standards of particular interest are being finalized; IEC 61730, which covers Class II equipment certification of PV modules and much more besides; and IEC 62124, design qualification and type approval of PV stand-alone systems. It is understood that TC 82 will be meeting again, in Frankfurt-am-Main, in November 2003.
TESTING
IECQ, which is currently providing the approvals service for PV GAP, encourages manufacturers to conduct the testing necessary for IEC approval in their own in-house facilities, as far as possible. If the manufacturer has to resort to outside testing, the testing facilities have to be acceptable to the IECQ Supervising Inspectorate which is responsible for the PV product approval. Such facilities do not necessarily need to be nationally accredited, and may even be research laboratories facilities, for example. This flexibility under IECQ can be extremely beneficial to the manufacturer in terms of cost savings and freedom in test programming.
PV GAP LICENSE FEE
As the first licensing of the PV GAP "PV Quality Mark" approaches, it is useful to recall the license fee structure:
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Yearly Revenue in Millions of US $ |
Yearly Fee in US $ |
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0 - 1 |
250 |
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1 - 2 |
500 |
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2 - 5 |
750 |
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5 - 15 |
1 000 |
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15 - 30 |
1 500 |
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30 - 50 |
1 750 |
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50 - 75 |
2 000 |
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75 - 100 |
2 500 |
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100 + |
3 000 |
"Revenue" is the total income (domestic and export) of the PV component manufacturer coming from PV products (the revenue of the facility in which the PV products are manufactured, not the revenue of the entire company).
The industry associations that look after the licensing to manufacturers on behalf of PV GAP are, at the present time, EPIA, JEMA and SEIA.
PROGRESS IN GERMANY AND INDIA
IECQ product approval of RWE’s thin-film modules is expected to be completed this year. RWE will then be in a position to be licensed to affix the "PV Quality Mark" to all thin-film modules released under the IECQ approval, which is ongoing and includes periodic re-testing. This is expected to be the first use of the "PV Quality Mark".
The IECQ detail specification for the modules, originated by RWE, will be published by the German Member Body of the IECQ, DKE.
In India, four manufacturers are actively interested in the "PV Quality Mark", namely Udhaya Semiconductors - Coimbatore, Tata BP Solar India - Bangalore, Central Electronics - Sahibabad, and Bharat Heavy Electricals, - Bangalore.
CONTINUING SUPPORT BY THE WORLD BANK
Following the decision by the World Bank in 2001 to recognize the potential benefits of PV GAP, with specific reference to this on the World Bank website (www.worldbank.org), each project now coming along from the World Bank is likely to include a statement along the following lines: "SHS components or systems that bear the Photovoltaic Global Approval Program (PV GAP) Mark or Seal will be acceptable for use in the Project. PV GAP is a Geneva, Switzerland-based, not-for-profit international organization, dedicated to the sustained growth of global photovoltaics (PV) markets to meet energy needs worldwide in an environmentally sound manner. For more information see http://www.pvgap.org."
Editor: PF Varadi