International Network of Solar Technology and Application Resource Centres (STAR C)

Governance: 

The STAR C project is jointly implemented by ISA and UNIDO and is supervised by a Supervisory Committee (SC). The project will be executed in partnership with ECREEE, EACREEE and PCREEE and other regional and national key stakeholders.The project includes the recruitment of regional coordinators at the three centres.  

Challenges addressed by STAR C: 

Quality infrastructure (QI) builds the credibility necessary for the creation of healthy, efficient and rapidly growing solar technology markets and ensures that expectations from investors and end-users for technology performance, durability and safety are met. Product and service quality standards are an important prerequisite for the long-term sustainability of solar markets and investments, as well as trust of consumers, suppliers and financiers. QI is also a key requirement for an inclusive energy transition, which creates local solar jobs, income and empowers domestic companies to participate in global or regional value chains of solar manufacturing and servicing. 

Globally, more than one hundred international standards relevant for renewable energy technologies have been published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). A significant part are dedicated to standards for PV technologies. These standards cover every aspect of PV energy systems, from solar cells converting solar radiation into electricity, to the manufacturing of solar panels, to aggregating and operating large-scale PV systems. 

International standards for SHC have been mainly developed by the ISO. They define test methods for solar thermal collectors, specific components and complete systems.  These core standards are complemented by regional or national standards, which address specific conditions or requirements linked to local regulations. 

In the growing markets of developing countries, assurance of product quality is crucial for all components and throughout the value chain of solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal heating and cooling (SHC) systems. However, in many countries, quality control of imported off-grid, distributed or utility-scale solar products is lacking and the market is exposed to low-quality imports. Maintaining quality controls for solar photovoltaic components, solar thermal components and complete thermal systems is further complicated by the large number of component providers active on the global market. 

Regarding the manufacturing of components the situation differs per region and technology. For example, in Sub Sahara Africa and Pacific islands, there are only a small number or no manufacturers and most PV modules and inverters are imported. In contrast, various Sub-Saharan African countries are manufacturers of solar thermal component and quality assurance for manufacturing is important. A good example for a SIDS country is Barbados, which has a very high solar thermal penetration per capita and produces most of the systems locally. 

Particular challenges in LDCs and SIDS arise also due to the lack of qualification, know-how and experience regarding quality installations. A study by TÜV Rheinland identified that, throughout the world, installation faults were the cause of more than 50% of serious defects in PV plants. Incorrect installation, often due to minor errors such as loose screws or incorrectly inserted connectors, can thus have devastating effects on plant performance and financial returns. Also the installation of SHC systems requires solid knowledge and can result in complete failure of the system if carried out incorrectly. A number of countries had negative experiences with solar thermal water heaters. Therefore, there is need to invest in reliable and specialised qualification and certification schemes targeting various enablers of the solar value chains, incusing consumers. 

A national QI framework for solar PV and SHC comprises institutions in charge of metrology, standardization, accreditation, conformity assessment and market surveillance, as well as the related policy, services and legal and regulatory frameworks. However, particularly in LDCs and SIDS, the solar mechanisms, processes and standards are often not well established, fragmented or hardly implemented. 

Moreover, there is no equal progress and harmonisation between countries remains weak. This hinders the uptake of regional trade and value chains for sustainable energy products and services, including within the envisaged African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). There is need to connect these regions to international best practice of solar QI. However, currently there is only very limited international support for the creation of renewable energy QI systems in developing countries.