Successful dissemination programs for residential PV applications. An international survey

In various countries, programs to promote decentralised PV systems have been introduced. The first comprehensive dissemination program was the German 1000 roofs program launched in 1989 and completed in 1993. About 2100 roofs were equipped with PV systems of an average size of 2.6 kWp. In the Austrian 200 kW PV rooftop program between 1992 and 1994 about 100 residential grid-connected systems were subsidized by utilities and governmental authorities. In SMUD's PV pioneer program about 360 residential PV systems has been installed upto 1996. The largest world-wide dissemination program so far was launched in Japan in 1994. This program is still ongoing and expected to expire in 1998. Until the end of 1996 about 2700 small grid-connected systems with an average capacity of 3 kWp had been installed. This paper summarizes the major features of these programs and investigates their success.