Evaluation of international photovoltaic projects: Volume II, Technical report

This report provides a comprehensive review and financial analysis of photovoltaic power systems for remote applications in developing countries. Volume I, the Executive Summary, provides an overview of all findings; Volume II, the Technical Report, covers the methods of analysis used and the results obtained. Five application areas are included: water pumping, communications, vaccine refrigeration, lighting and home power, and multi-use systems. Findings are based on qualitative reviews of more than 2700 systems in 45 countries. Information was collected from published reports, questionnaires, and interviews with key experts. Site visits were not within the scope of this evaluation. The intended audience of this report are development agency officials, manufacturers, and users. Based on ''lessons learned'' from past projects, recommendations are provided for project implementation. In addition, financial analyses allow decision makers to use their own assumptions to obtain a first-order indication of the financial attractiveness of photovoltaic systems for each application. This report also provides industry with an assessment of product performance and suggested areas for additional improvements.