IEA needs your data for survey about Aussie PV

Australia is no small player in the global solar sector. Even though we may have less utility scale PV than some developing nations, Australia has a market-leading proportion of householders owning a solar system. Our daily experiences attract international attention – because we have low feed-in tariffs and high system penetration. These are issues that will be faced by many countries following behind us. So too, we have a lot to learn from market leaders like Germany where the smartest minds devote huge amounts of time to such issues.

For this reason, Australia’s involvement in the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) PV Power Systems (PVPS) program is of immense value to us and to the world. Task 1 of the IEA PVPS is all about collecting, collating, analyzing, and disseminating information about national solar markets – exactly the stuff that SunWiz loves doing for you, so it was only natural that I volunteered to represent Australia in the IEA-PVPS.

The information we provide about Australia’s solar market is read with earnest within the International Energy Agency, which significantly influences governments’ decisions around the world. For example, the IEA said in 2014 that the sun could be the world’s largest source of electricity by 2050, ahead of fossil fuels, wind, hydro and nuclear.

So here’s where I need your input. Each year, the Australian PV Institute (APVI) prepares Australia’s report to the IEA PVPS, and the best source of information about what’s happening on the ground comes from the solar business community. Indeed you and your colleagues are the best data source on the off-grid market, and the #1 way to calculate  the number of solar employees in Australia. And for the first time, the size of Australia’s emerging battery-backed up grid-connect systems will be calculated – based upon your reports.

Now, I know you’re all busy…. so the cool bit about this survey is that every question is optional – you answer only the topics you want… You get to have your say on the following topics:

• Key factors influencing your business
• Network connection approval difficulties
• Any problems with equipment you regularly encounter
• Skills shortages you’re facing
• Research you’re involved with
• The time it takes to move from initial customer inquiry through to commissioned system
• Your experience with monitoring equipment
• and issues you face which need resolving by your representative organisations

Your contribution will also help us calculate the number of solar employees in Australia, and the size of the off-grid and battery-backup markets.