Harold N. Post

Photovoltaic systems: an end‐of‐millennium review

The production of electricity from photovoltaics continues to attract worldwide interest, most recently as a power source for distributed energy generation. Todays photovoltaic systems are already being used effectively for smaller power needs in remote applications. For both of these applications, the issues of reliability, efficiency, safety, and low cost are the principal drivers of system technology. This review uses these design issues to provide a system perspective on the current status of the technology, the changes it has already experienced and the necessity for improvements, especially in tomorrows systems. The discussion of remaining issues focuses on the reduction of area-related and collector costs, the accurate prediction of performance and lifetime, and the need for developing much better information on recurring costs for maintenance and component replacement. Copyright

Five Years of Residential Photovoltaic System Experience at Tucson Electric Power

ABSTRACT Tucson Electric Power Company (TEP) is a U.S. utility leader in the early adoption of photovoltaic power generation with over 6.0 MWdc of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems installed in its service territory since 2000. A significant element of the TEP photovoltaic effort is the SunShare PV hardware buy-down program that has been offered to TEP customers since 2001. During the past five years, 282 residentialsize systems totaling 655 kWdc of crystalline silicon collectors have been installed in the Tucson area through SunShare. Much has been learned regarding performance, cost, maintenance, installation, and design of these systems. This article presents an assessment of these topics and a perspective associated with a family of systems within this PV program.