Capability building for the manufacture of photovoltaic system components in developing countries
type: CreativeWork
description: The manufacture of photovoltaic (PV) system components has a role to play in the industrialisation and poverty reduction strategies of developing countries. It has also been suggested that small scale local manufacture of balance of systems components has the potential to improve the maintenance, installation and use of the technology. However, PV is a complex technology and most developing countries have not been able to build the capabilities required to manufacture PV system components of an appropriate quality and price, either in the modern or small scale sectors. The factors that determine the success of PV manufacturers in developing countries are therefore of interest. Previous studies on learning in the PV industry have been focused on industry-wide concerns and have not explicitly addressed enterprise-level capability building or challenges specific to developing countries. In particular, there has been very little published about small scale PV manufacture. This thesis therefore aims to improve understanding of the factors that influence capability building, with a view to assisting decision making in relation to PV manufacture in developing countries. The aims of the study have been fulfilled by the development and assessment of a software simulation training tool for PV cell production line engineers, the development of an analysis framework, and application of it to several case study PV enterprises. Through the application of the framework to the case studies, it has been possible to assess the role of software simulations, the suitability of countries with different types of infrastructure for hosting PV manufacturing and the institutional arrangements or interventions that could be used to promote capability building for PV manufacturers in developing countries. While further case studies are required to make more than tentative conclusions, the framework developed and tested in this thesis may now be used as a tool to systematically and rapidly ana…
abstract: The manufacture of photovoltaic (PV) system components has a role to play in the industrialisation and poverty reduction strategies of developing countries. It has also been suggested that small scale local manufacture of balance of systems components has the potential to improve the maintenance, installation and use of the technology. However, PV is a complex technology and most developing countries have not been able to build the capabilities required to manufacture PV system components of an appropriate quality and price, either in the modern or small scale sectors. The factors that determine the success of PV manufacturers in developing countries are therefore of interest. Previous studies on learning in the PV industry have been focused on industry-wide concerns and have not explicitly addressed enterprise-level capability building or challenges specific to developing countries. In particular, there has been very little published about small scale PV manufacture. This thesis therefore aims to improve understanding of the factors that influence capability building, with a view to assisting decision making in relation to PV manufacture in developing countries. The aims of the study have been fulfilled by the development and assessment of a software simulation training tool for PV cell production line engineers, the development of an analysis framework, and application of it to several case study PV enterprises. Through the application of the framework to the case studies, it has been possible to assess the role of software simulations, the suitability of countries with different types of infrastructure for hosting PV manufacturing and the institutional arrangements or interventions that could be used to promote capability building for PV manufacturers in developing countries. While further case studies are required to make more than tentative conclusions, the framework developed and tested in this thesis may now be used as a tool to systematically and rapidly ana…
author: Bruce, Anna Gabrielle
language: EN
keywords: Manufacture., Photovoltaics., Development., Capability building., Capacity building., Technological systems., Small-scale manufacture., Simulation software., Photovoltaic cells., Photovoltaic power generation -- Developing countries.
license: https://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/
date published: 2007
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:33:43Z
provider: University of New South Wales
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: UNSW, Sydney

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/41861

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.26190/unsworks/17917