PHOTOVOLTAIC PROGRAM

THE PROGRAM WILL BE MANAGED BY NASA"S LEWIS RESEARCH CENTER (NASA/LEWIS). THE INITIAL AREA FOR APPLICATION TESTS WILL BE HEALTH DELIVERY SYSTEMS, WITH APPLICATIONS IN AREAS OF COMMUNICATIONS, EDUCATION, AND HYDRAULICS/IRRIGATION TO FOLLOW. NASA/LEWIS WILL FIRST SURVEY AID"S BILATERAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM TO IDENTIFY ACTIVITIES THAT MIGHT OFFER OPPORTUNITIES TO DEMONSTRATE PRACTICAL USES OF PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY. WHEN A SPECIFIC SUBPROJECT ACTIVITY HAS BEEN APPROVED, NASA/LEWIS WILL DEAL DIRECTLY WITH FIELD MISSIONS IN ON-SITE STUDIES AND PROJECT DESIGN. NASA/LEWIS WILL PROVIDE TECHNICAL ADVISORS TO PREPARE PROJECT PROPOSALS, INCLUDING TECHNICAL, SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND CULTURAL FEASIBILITY STUDIES. DURING IMPLEMENTATION, NASA/LEWIS MAY PROVIDE TDY TECHNICIANS, EQUIPMENT, FUNDS, AND TRAINING IN SUPPORT OF THE PHOTOVOLTAIC COMPONENT OF SELECTED PROJECTS. MOST OF THE ACTIVITIES WILL BE UNDERTAKEN BY CONTRACTORS TO NASA/LEWIS. CONTRACTOR ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE STUDIES AND ANALYSES TO DEFINE APPROPRIATE DEMONSTRATIONS, ENGINEERING STUDIES REQUIRED TO DEVELOP THE INTEGRATED SYSTEM FOR THE DEMONSTRATIONS, FIELD TESTS OF PHOTOVOLTAIC POWERED SYSTEMS, INFORMATION DISSEMINATION, AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. THE FIELD TESTS WILL INCLUDE 3 TYPES OF ACTIVITIES: SMALL DEMONSTRATIONS, PROTOTYPE SYSTEMS, AND MULTI-UNIT REPLICATIONS OF PROTOTYPES. THE FIELD TESTS WILL BE STRUCTURED TO ADDRESS BOTH TECHNICAL AND NON-TECHNICAL ISSUES. PROVISIONS WILL BE INCLUDED FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC BASELINE AND IMPACT STUDIES AS WELL AS USER APPLICATION AND TRAINING.