To ensure a high technical quality of the conference and its proceedings, the PVSC publication process relies on two main elements:

• A rigorous peer review process of all submitted abstracts
• A “no paper, no podium” policy – all presenters must submit a manuscript to be published by the IEEE in a single volume of the Proceedings of the PVSC

The abstract peer review process takes place shortly after the submission deadline. At least 5 reviewers assess the quality of each 3-page extended abstract submission. Based on their combined review scores, the work is accepted for inclusion in the PVSC program as an extended oral, regular oral, or poster contribution (or, if appropriate, rejection). Compared with abstract reviews for some other conferences, the 3-page abstract is expected to be at a quite advanced stage to be selected for oral presentation, so authors should take some care in preparing their submissions. Word and LaTex templates are available on the submission website and should be strictly followed.

The timing of the abstract submission and review process enables the conference to establish the technical program, while also giving the authors ample time before the conference to prepare their manuscript for the conference proceedings. There is also the possibility to submit contributions to the conference after the official January deadline as “a late submission.” For this year's virtual conference, late abstract submissions will be considered for both oral or poster presentations.

The disposition of the review process is then typically communicated to the corresponding author by e-mail.  Please note that it is important that the corresponding author can be contacted throughout the entire publication process. Authors are requested to confirm or decline their conference contribution at this point in time.

The final manuscript will be due just prior to the conference. This deadline is an important aspect of the conference’s “no paper, no podium” policy: if the author has not submitted their manuscript, they will not be allowed to give their presentation. Proceedings should be 3-8 pages in length and must follow the Word or LaTex templates. In preparing conference proceedings, authors may expand upon the evaluation abstract or replace it with an entirely new version. However, starting in 2020, if the author does not replace the evaluation abstract with a Proceedings manuscript, the evaluation abstract will be automatically published in the Proceedings.

During the conference, all manuscripts will be available online to conference attendees using their PVSC conference login credentials. The conference proceedings, even before the IEEEXplore publication, can also be accessed through the proceedings archive on the conference website, free of charge for all attendees. Finally, please be aware that the "no paper, no podium" rule is enforced both ways: a paper that has not been presented at the conference is also excluded from the proceedings.

Select authors will be invited to submit an enhanced version of their proceedings to the IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, to share journal quality research with the PV community. J-PV is a peer-reviewed, archival publication reporting original and significant research results that advance the field of photovoltaics (see the J-PV website for further details on the scope). Enhanced versions should contain 30% or more additional content beyond the proceedings, and each submitted paper will be processed through the normal J-PV review process as if it were an unsolicited manuscript.