EMERGING MARKETS FOR PHOTOVOLTAICS

Consumer items like calculators and watches were among the first commercial uses for small bits of low-performance photovoltaics, but today large, reliable, and more-efficient modules can often be spotted on streetlights, highway call boxes, microwave towers, and even building rooftops. And in developing countries as well as many developed countries, simple PV systems of just a few modules are bringing a new quality of life to remote areas that lack the basic infrastructure for electrification. While the technology remains too costly to compete directly with electricity generated by conventional power plants, PV producers and a growing number of electric utilities in this country have concluded that there are significant opportunities for distributed and remote applications of PV even at today's higher costs. Utilities are increasingly considering remote and even grid-connected PV systems within their own operations. They are also exploring the interest among some customers in rooftop solar modules to supplement their electric service. EPRI is working with utilities and the PV community both to expand the applications experience base and to continue the pursuit of R&D advances that will help make the technology more economical.